Blurred Lines
part vii

Adrenaline pulsed through Sakura's veins, sending her heart into a fast rhythm and causing her body to practically hum as her senses were put on high alert. The blood was roaring in her ears, the sound only broken up by the wire in her ear that connected her to the rest of her squad. Her agency-issued body armor weighed heavily on her shoulders, but it was her only comfort as her grip on her rifle tightened.

With practiced ease, Sakura cleared the room, Naruto beside her with his own weapon fully loaded and ready for use at a moment's notice. The other members of their squad were hot on their heels, all as heavily armed and ready for deadly contact as they searched, secured and moved onto the next room.

The office building was large and held a rather complicated layout, but Sakura and her team had been strategizing and planning this raid for months, and they navigated the combination of long hallways and large, open office spaces quickly and carefully. They would not allow the Senju brothers to escape.

It had been nearly four months since Sakura had last seen or spoken to Madara and though they had parted on less-than amicable terms, she had found herself unable to ignore the information that he had given her. It had festered in her mind, prodding and provoking her curiosity until it had overridden her better judgment. For three days straight, she had searched through her agency's files, researching and investigating their Deputy Director for something, anything linking him to the Senju and just when she was beginning to believe Madara had been wrong all along, she found something.

It was so small Sakura almost thought she was interpreting evidence to her will simply because she was looking for something, but it had piqued her interest enough to continue investigating. In the evidence collected at Danzo's murder scene there had been an emailed document of a manifest and flight plan to the west coast in a few weeks' time. It coincided with the annual meeting of high-ranking directors around the country. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have even been noticeable, but the plane was not owned or contracted by their agency and during that time frame, Danzo was supposed to be meeting with another 'classified' official across the country.

After battling inwardly for nearly three days, Sakura had brought it to her supervisor's attention. It was fortunate she had worked under Hatake Kakashi for so long. If it had been anyone else, the amount of questioning of exactly what she was implying would have caused her to withdraw her inquiry immediately, if not her badge. Kakashi had pressed upon her the importance of her keeping her investigation a secret and though he wasn't entirely convinced, he wanted her to continue looking into the matter.

It had taken quite a bit of unconventional digging and sneaking around, but eventually Sakura had found what she was looking for. A burner phone. It had been hidden under the floorboards in Danzo's closet, but it held all the information anyone would need to not only arrest their Deputy Director had he still been alive, but sentence him to death as well.

The Senju Clan became her team's next target as they discovered not only had they been paid by Danzo to execute their Director, but they were also planning to carry out the attack even in the wake of his death. It was how Sakura found herself in her current situation. Her team's hacker had intercepted communications between Senju Hashirama and an unidentified person or persons planning a meeting deep in the heart of the city. It was only a week until the planned assassination of their Director.

"North Wing, clear," she heard through the radio.

Sakura and her team were close to clearing the East Wing, which meant if the Senju brothers were planning a meeting here with a third unknown party, they were soon about to find out.

That thought had barely passed through Sakura's mind when she heard the officer a few bodies ahead of her call out: "Federal agents! Stop!"

Gunfire returned his command and automatically Sakura took cover and waited for a break in the echoing before she straightened, located the nearest gunman and fired. He hit the floor the same moment the man next to him did as Naruto took him out. With the bodyguards thinning out, Sakura caught sight of at least a dozen well-dressed men disappear into the hall opposite the large room, but there was only one face she saw that she recognized: Hashirama.

"We have eyes. East Wing heading South," she reported into the mic clipped to her vest.

"Copy that," a squad leader replied. "All available units, prepare for exit out the South Wing."

The moment the last bodyguard was down, Sakura was in motion. A few agents stayed behind to ensure the room was secure while the rest followed her and Naruto down the hallway their targets had disappeared. Almost immediately, the hallway forked and without having to say a word, she and Naruto nodded in understanding before he took the lead down one way and she went the other.

She could hear the echo of footsteps disappearing down the hall some distance ahead of her as she and her team quickly scrambled to catch up and it wasn't long before they burst through another room. This one was much darker with only the accent walls lit up and they cleared it with a quick sweep before she signaled for her team to continue on. It appeared the Senju brothers were planning to make their escape from the Southeast corner of the building.

As soon as the last member of her team was through the next hallway, Sakura followed. She took up the rear, swiftly moving with her team to chase down the fast-falling footsteps, but just as she passed a dark, door less office, someone grasped the back of her vest and jerked her backward as a hand slid over her mouth to silence her gasp of surprise.

In the semi-darkness, they pinned her against the wall, effectively trapping her arms and rendering her weapon useless as it hung by its strap over her shoulder. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she stood rigid, unable to do anything as the sounds of her unit slowly faded further into the building.

Only after their footsteps were gone did the hand over her mouth move. She reached for her sidearm, her rifle too big for their close proximity, as she was forcefully spun around and pinned to the wall once more. "What are you doing here?"

She knew that voice.

Immediately Sakura stilled, her eyes wide as she stilled her movements for her gun. Even in the shadows, she could see he didn't appear to have changed much in the few months that had passed since she last saw him. He was dressed expensively in a suit of soft silk, something she only knew because it was currently brushing against her as he pinned her against the wall. His dark hair was framing his handsome face, but it was those obsidian eyes that enraptured her and drew her full attention; they were shining dangerously in the dim lighting as he stared at her angrily.

"Madara," she whispered. Then her initial surprise faded as her anger returned in full force. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was here long before you arrived, Sakura," he answered in a voice of smooth ice.

"You were the one meeting with the Senju brothers?" she asked incredibly. She stared at him wide-eyed as she tried to understand how that was possible. "You told me you were on the brink of war with them, you killed my Deputy Director over them, and now you're telling me that you came here specifically to meet with them? You're a damn liar! I knew better than to trust you!"

Agitated, Sakura fought against his hold only to grow more furious as she found she couldn't budge his strong grip. She struggled to get a good hold to at the very least push him away, but he only pressed her back into the wall further, effectively trapping her.

"If you would calm down for one moment, Sakura, you would realize I have never lied to you. Do not make this personal."

"Personal?" she retorted sharply. She met his impatient gaze with a glare. "I was fine using you, taking advantage of you. Then you came and found me after my mother-." She cut off abruptly as memories from that early morning flickered across her mind.

She could still remember the ease in which he had wrapped his jacket around her and the tenderness of his touch against her face, and by the way Madara was staring at her, she knew he hadn't forgotten either. But before she could get lost in the moment, she quickly blinked those images away as her chest began to ache in ways that had nothing to do with Madara's body weight.

Swallowing, her gaze hardened once more. "I didn't make this personal. You did."

Madara held her gaze unwaveringly, but before he could answer, someone spoke: "So this is why Madara has been so pissy lately."

"Shisui!"

Immediately the pair stilled as Sakura's eyes widened and Madara's narrowed into dangerous slits. He cut his gaze towards the entrance of their hiding spot and glared at the male that spoken. Sakura didn't recognize him, but she knew him to be of Uchiha descent by his short, dark hair and keen, midnight eyes.

However, it was the male that had elbowed him that made Sakura stare in surprise. "Itachi?"

"Sakura," he replied shortly. It had been years since she'd seen the older man, but she still recognized the monotonous drawl of his voice, and his polite but reserved stare. "It has been some time."

"You two know each other?" the one Itachi had called 'Shisui' asked.

Itachi shot him a minutely impatient look. "My little brother was her partner for some years. We are acquainted. However, now is not the time to reminisce. Hashirama has already escaped the premises and the Federal Task Force is calling in reinforcements. We need to vacate immediately."

At that moment, another figure appeared in the doorway. She was dressed in a business suit that made her look both stunning and dangerous. "Itachi is right. We can regroup and re-evaluate later."

With the dim lighting, Sakura could just barely make out the woman's features but, just like Itachi, there was no denying her heritage. She got the vague impression she knew this woman, not personally but through story, and the moment the mystery woman spotted Sakura, she felt as if the feeling was mutual.

However, before Sakura could think on it for too long, Madara stepped away from her and for the first time since Itachi and Shisui had appeared, she realized just how intimately Madara had been pressed against her. Her body felt cold in the places he had been but she forced herself to focus as Madara turned to the woman. "Mikoto, take the boys and get the car. I will join you shortly."

Mikoto. This was Sasuke's mother.

Before Sakura could think on it further, another set of hurried footsteps sounded a ways down the hall. Quickly but silently Mikoto, Shisui and Itachi jumped into the room with them and took cover just as a half dozen men dressed in dark suits sprinted down the opposite way Sakura's team had disappeared. "They've already closed in on the South Wing. We'll have to backtrack and try the East."

Without a doubt, Sakura knew at least one of the Senju brothers was still at large. Her adrenaline returned full force and the moment the footsteps of the last bodyguard faded, she straightened from where she had pressed herself back against the wall as she grasped her rifle again.

"We have one target down in the Southeast corner," her radio suddenly crackled to life. "And an officer hit. Requesting medics on standby."

Guilt rippled through her. She had spent too much time here already. Her partner and co-workers were fighting and risking their lives while she hid in a dark corner with people who were just as dangerous to her agency as the Senju family. She needed to move.

However, Sakura had barely stepped out into the hallway before a firm hand grasped her arm, stopping her. "Where are you going?"

She turned back to Madara, her expression hard. "Get out of here. We haven't cleared the West side yet. Your best chance of escape is through there."

"And what makes you think we can trust you?" Shisui suddenly quipped.

"Because if I was going to shoot you, I would have done it already," she replied sharply. "I'm already dealing with the Senju right now. I don't need Uchihas thrown into the mix."

She moved to leave again, but Madara hadn't yet released his grip on her. "You are only one agent. What exactly are you going to do when you catch up to them?"

"I'm going to do my job," she retorted.

Then she shook herself of his grasp and took off down the hall. She quickly circled back the way she had come, scanning and listening for any signs of movement as she reentered the large office room before she continued towards the east side of the building. She slipped down the hall silently, her rifle trained and at the ready. She had just passed a conference room when voices reached her ear, causing her to stop and lower her weapon before she stealthily peeked around the corner.

It led to another large, open office space and across the room stood Itama, the second youngest Senju brother. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched him pace the length of the meeting table, his phone to his ear as he spoke hurriedly but lowly into the receiver. Sakura counted six guards.

Doing her best to stay out of sight, Sakura looked for all her exit points and best places for cover. There was only one other entrance into the area along the wall directly to her right, but she couldn't attack from here. The wall keeping her hidden from the men was made mostly of dark-tinted glass. She would need to find better protection before attacking. There was a divider wall a few lengths in front of her.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura prepared herself to make a move but before she could even release her breath, she was pulled backwards down the hall and away from Itama and his men. She spun around sharply, her weapon raised, only to stop as she came face-to-face with Madara.

Her eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed. "I told you to go!"

His expression was cool but deadly serious. "Stop being stubborn. I refuse to let you walk into a firefight on your own."

"You two, freeze!"

The pair stilled before they glanced down the hall. Immediately Sakura recognized him as a Senju guard from his simple black and white suit, but it was the gun trained on them that made Sakura want to turn and punch Madara. This was all his fault.

"Well this is just fucking great."

But before he could move to shoot either of them, a muted gunshot sounded before the guard suddenly dropped to the floor and did not move again. With wide eyes, Sakura looked up as Mikoto rounded the corner, her weapon in hand and her expression hard.

"Mikoto, I told you to go with the boys."

She shot Madara an unimpressed look. "Did you really think I was going to let you wander around by yourself in a building filled with Federal Agents and the Senju?"

Sakura could tell he wanted to order her to leave without him, but before he could open his mouth, shouts sounded from the opposite side of the hall – the side Senju Itama was: "Uchiha!"

Sakura snapped her head in their direction as she raised her rifle and fired. The bullet struck the first man, killing him instantly but two more only took his place. They were still in the wide hallway, still fully exposed and without thinking, Sakura launched herself at Madara, pushing him into the open conference room a pace ahead of them just as pain lanced through her lower side. It felt like someone had punched her.

They hit the ground hard, but Sakura was already moving as she unloaded her now empty magazine and replaced it with another. She moved to stand, but the moment she put weight on her injured side, pain gripped her like a fiery hand and squeezed. She gasped as she dropped back to the floor.

"Sakura?"

She placed a hand to her hip and pulled it away to find her fingers stained red. "I'm fine," she ground out.

Madara was at her side in an instant, his hands pulling her rifle off her shoulder and shoving her vest out of the way until he could find the source of the bleeding. He applied hard pressure to the wound, causing her to hiss out a pained breath between clenched teeth. "Like hell you are. This is exactly why I did not want you going alone. Why did you do that?"

She wasn't given time to answer as a shadow fell just outside the doorway and she quickly pulled her Glock from her hip and aimed it at the door just as the first bodyguard appeared. He was dead before he hit the floor.

In the same heartbeat, the door on the opposite side of the conference room opened as Mikoto appeared. "There's a back hallway. We can get out through-." She stopped mid-sentence as her gaze landed on the blood seeping between Madara's fingers. Without pause, she swept into the room and dropped to her knees next to Sakura before she reached for the abandoned rifle and forced it into Madara's chest. "Take care of them. I'll see to her."

Madara looked ready to retort, but she quickly cut him off. "Now!"

He hesitated only a moment more before he finally moved to cover the doorway. Sakura could hear the echo of her rifle as Madara picked off the remaining guards but it became background noise as Mikoto pulled at her clothes and attempted to find the direct source of the bleeding. Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth and attempted to smother her own cry of pain as the older woman pressed the heel of her palm into the entry point.

"I know it hurts, Sakura, but you have to lie still."

The resounding blast of her rifle drowned out the radio in her ear. Even without the ability to make out the transmission, she knew the gunfire had been heard and her team was on their way. It both relieved and stressed her. She needed back up, but she needed for them to leave. No one could know they were here.

Sakura glanced towards the door, but Madara was no longer there. "Mikoto," she hissed. She grasped the woman's wrist to draw her attention. "Get him out of here."

The older woman briefly paused in her work to look down at her in confusion. "Sakura-."

"You need to get out of here; you both need to get out of here," she interrupted. She slipped her gaze towards the doorway to see Madara still hadn't returned and she turned her attention back to the older woman. "He's not going to want to leave," she continued, "but you make him leave."

Mikoto's gaze briefly flickered to her earpiece before understanding washed over her and eventually she nodded, a solemn look on her face. "I'll ensure he's safe."

Sakura nodded as she released her wrist and relaxed back against the floor. Her body felt cold and hot at the same time as her side alternated between throbbing and sending jolts of pain down her leg and into her stomach. Her jaw ached from grinding her teeth together and she pinched her eyes shut as she tried to focus on just breathing.

"How is she?"

"She's…alive," Mikoto answered. "The guards?"

"All dead, along with Itama."

Sakura opened her eyes to find Madara hovering over her. His gaze was focused on her hip where the blood was continuing to slip past Mikoto's fingers as his brow pinched together in worry. She reached out to him, her fingers finding his knee. "Madara, you have to go."

His gaze didn't leave her hip. "I am not going anywhere, Sakura."

With waning strength, she reached up to grasp his tie and pulled on it until he finally met her gaze. She wondered how he could still look so proper after winning a firefight nearly single-handedly, but that thought quickly left her. His onyx eyes were intense, full of distress, anxiety and something else she could only define as fear.

Her chest ached in ways that had nothing to do with her bullet wound. "This is what's going to happen," she told him, her voice soft but firm. "You're going to kiss me and then you're going to get out of here as fast as possible."

"No," he countered firmly. He leaned over her, allowing her to drop her grip on his tie. "What were you even thinking? That bullet was supposed to be mine." He shook his head. "I am not leaving you!"

"Yes, you are."

"Madara, she needs to get to a hospital," Mikoto added. "She was hit in the hip. If an ovary or tube was clipped, she'll have internal bleeding. There's nothing more we can do."

He ignored her. "I can't leave you not knowing if you're..."

The uncharacteristic emotion in his voice made her heart heal and break all over again at the same time. She wanted him to stay with her – she wanted it more than she could even put into words – but there was no alternative; he had to go. If her agency saw him, they would most likely shoot him on-sight.

She just smiled softly at him. "Then kiss me like I'm going to die."

Sakura could see his emotions as they warred across his face, but he said nothing before he bent down and for the first time, sealed his lips to hers in a kiss that seared her very soul. His fingers dug into her jaw almost painfully as his mouth moved against hers fiercely, conveying all the emotions that he couldn't put into words; all his desires, all his fears, all his love for her. The intensity of it made her head spin and it washed away her pain as he held her close and gave her everything he had into that one moment.

Sakura felt starved. She couldn't breathe, but she didn't care as she tangled her fingers into his hair and pulled him ever closer. The last few months had taken their toll on her. She hadn't realized how much she had come to care for him, how much she missed having him around until she had told him that she was done. Since then, she had done her best to shove her emotions into the corner of her heart but seeing him, touching him, kissing him brought all those emotions to the forefront again. It was the first time in a long time she felt whole.

"Haruno, state your status."

Their kiss ended just as quickly as it began. Both were breathing heavily and it was a moment more before Sakura released her tight grip in his hair to reach for the mic clipped to her vest. Her gaze never wavered from Madara's as she answered slowly, "East wing. Conference Room 202. Officer down. Requesting immediate transport."

Neither of them moved as she finished her transmission. The urge to drag him down again nearly overcame her, but she knew if she did, he would never leave so instead she gently pushed on his shoulder as she began to feel the effects of blood loss. Her pain returned. "Go."

He said nothing before he pulled away and unfastened his tie. She watched with heavy lids as he silently wadded it up before he placed it in her hand and guided her palm to where Mikoto was still applying pressure. Taking his silent cue, she removed her hand so Sakura could replace it with her own. She tried to hide her wince.

"Keep pressure," he told her. "And stay alive."

Through the pain, she nodded, a placating smile on her face. "Now get out of here."

Mikoto moved towards the door first and after another moment of hesitation, Madara eventually stood. Sakura watched him leave silently, his gaze never leaving her until he was eventually forced to leave the room. The moment he was gone, Sakura turned her gaze to the ceiling.

She had tried to stay strong in front of him, knowing if he knew exactly how much pain she was currently in, he would never leave. But now that she was alone, the first tears began to leak out of the corner of her eyes. She would have never thought it possible for a heart to feel so full while in so much pain, but she knew that if she was to die on this floor, at least she wouldn't be alone with a broken heart. It was no longer anger that filled the void in her chest.

tbc...

This is my birthday present to me. I'm so happy! Also yes, you read that last part correctly.