"Long time no see, my old friend. How are you settling in?"
Madara steeled his body so it wouldn't move away when Danzo patted his arm with a smile plastered on his scarred face, "I'm ready to work."
The dark-haired older man chuckled, glancing at the couple standing silently nearby, "Always the professional, isn't he? Some things never change."
Danzo casually walked around the large mahogany desk in the office they were meeting at and sat. Madara observed as he moved to stand beside Yahiko and awaited instruction. For Mr. Shimura to summon him back to Konoha after all this time, he surely had something specific in mind. He didn't have to wait long because his boss soon explained the situation.
"As you all know, I have relationships with some of the most powerful people in the country. It's taken years for our family to gain its good reputation, and the time has come to take things to the next level."
Madara's teeth grit. He didn't like how the older man's smile kept widening. It made his stomach churn.
"I chose you three because there's no one I trust enough for such an important job. Please don't make me regret my decision."
The couple to the Uchiha man's left glanced at one another, but no one interrupted the powerful man sitting at the desk.
"On Christmas Eve, I will be hosting an auction. Your job is to locate and retrieve the items for this auction." No one outwardly reacted, so Danzo continued, "Someone will be in contact to provide you with your targets and information on when and where to deliver them. I trust I don't need to explain how important this party is for all of our futures."
Hours later, Madara returned to his apartment feeling apprehensive. It's been so long since he worked directly under Danzo, so he'd forgotten how unsettling his constantly-present smile was to behold. His way of speaking was sickeningly sweet and cheerful, as though he was always in the presence of children he didn't want to scare. The Uchiha man isn't scared of him, per se, but he is intimidated by the man's power. With just a snap of his fingers, dozens of assassins could jump a target at any moment.
'Will we have to steal the items for this mission? He didn't explain that well,' Madara wondered as he absently cleaned his apartment. When he told Sakura the place was only tidy because he'd just moved in, he wasn't lying. It's not that he's lazy, just that he gets so focused he doesn't notice.
In the past, he's stolen priceless treasures, but he'd also worked jobs where the item simply needed to be picked up and brought back. Given the lucrative nature of their meeting and how thoroughly Danzo reminded them of his expectations, Madara expected to be given only the most demanding orders.
A soft thump hit the wall separating his unit from Sakura's, and he sighed, glaring at the white paint that colored it.
It's been over a week since he and Sakura spent more than a few minutes in one another's presence. When he left her apartment on Saturday evening, he felt they were back to normal, where they'd visit one another a couple times throughout the week and text occasionally, but that wasn't the case.
On Tuesday morning, he ran into the pink-haired woman when he was leaving for work, and she was leaving for a jog. She couldn't meet his eye.
Madara's not an idiot, and he's not blind. The moment she noticed his presence, she became stiff, and when the elevator doors closed with them inside, her body language became introverted and defensive. It was apparent she didn't feel comfortable, but the man couldn't figure out why. When the doors opened, she plastered on a sad excuse for a smile and hurried out of the building before he could stop her.
Ever since then, he hasn't seen her once. He texted her on Saturday to let her know he wouldn't make it home in time to join her for dinner, and she responded that it was alright, and that was the end of that.
He could take a hint. Sakura didn't want to be around him for whatever reason. It'd be rude to force his way in, but he also isn't the type to chase someone's attention. His pride would never allow it.
That said, her apartment has been louder than usual these past few days. It wasn't at all times, but odd thumps and the occasional bout of loud music could be heard even from down the hallway. Madara would never file a complaint, but he can't speak for any of the other tenants.
So, days passed. On the Sunday after his second week back to work, things changed in a way he didn't expect. At that point, he assumed his friendship with Sakura was over. It'd been over a week since they last spoke. She wasn't talking to him, and he wasn't going to reach out when it was clearly unwanted.
He was returning home, but when he passed her door, he heard a sound that froze his footsteps. "Stop! Please, stop!" The Uchiha man turned his head to stare at the numbers of her apartment with wide eyes.
'It's none of your business. She doesn't want you around anymore, so pretend you didn't hear it and move on,' he told himself.
Before he could make his body move again, the door opened, and out stepped Sasuke. The younger man had a bloody lip and glared at Madara when he noticed his presence, quickly shutting the door behind him so the older man wouldn't look inside.
"Do you need something? I told you to leave her alone, asshole."
Madara had obviously put the puzzle pieces together, and it took every ounce of control he possessed not to literally coat the hallway with the boy's blood. All he could think about as he mirrored Sasuke's hateful glare was how warm Sakura's expression had been when she told him about how they had met and how much she loved him. She adored him, and he made her cry. Though the man dislikes Sasuke, he'd never wish for his pink-haired friend to be hurt.
"What the fuck are you staring at? Do you have a problem?"
Somehow, Madara found it in himself to shake his head, turn around, and disappear into his apartment. If he murdered a rich kid like that, the cops would be all over the place. He'd have to relocate again, and Danzo would be so pissed he may even put a hit out on him.
Sakura was a wreck.
Though she's never been in serious danger, she's not your average girl. When push comes to shove, her first response has always been to shove right back rather than run away. That's why when Sasuke loses his temper, an occurrence that was becoming regular, she never sat there and took it. No, she fought back, but that only made him angrier.
Two weeks had passed since the day he broke her TV and declared that they weren't going to break up. The Uchiha man came over almost every day, and when things didn't go as smoothly as they always used to, he'd get mad.
This time, Sakura had asked him why he was trying so hard to keep her. If he was so bored and apparently didn't even find her all that attractive, if what that redhead said had any merit, then she couldn't figure out why he didn't just find a different girlfriend.
Honestly, she knew the answer. It's because she's familiar.
Sasuke's a creature of habit, so he doesn't handle change well. After six years together, Sakura had become a figurehead in his life. If she disappeared, the rest of his life would spiral. Sasuke couldn't say that, of course. When Sakura told him her thoughts, he didn't like hearing the truth. It isn't her job to make him happy anymore; she even told him she hopes he's miserable.
There's undoubtedly some kind of injury to her back because it hurt like hell. Sasuke's a fan of shoving her. Maybe she should consider herself lucky he didn't prefer hitting because it'd be harder to hide those sorts of marks.
When Sakura tried to bend over to pick up some of the books Sasuke had knocked off the table, a sharp pain shot up her spine, and her knees buckled. Angry tears welled in her eyes as she shakily straightened her body and entered the bathroom. Lifting her shirt up, she turned to see a massive black bruise dusting her pale skin like a twisted tie-dye. It went from her shoulders to her lower back but was darker in the middle than anywhere else. There were also bruises around her wrists, which were easily hidden when she left home because she just wore long sleeves.
'I should put some ointment on it, but I won't be able to reach everything….'
Sakura didn't intend to let Sasuke keep playing this sick game. No, she had a plan. Little did he know, she ordered a video security system that was supposed to arrive within the next three weeks. She'll set it up in her living room, hidden, of course. Then, he'll be recorded intimidating and hurting her, and she'll take the proof to the police so he'll have no way of denying the accusation.
The Uchiha family is extremely powerful. She'd be a laughing stock if she tried to turn him in without a fool-hardy case. She even knew to go to the station on the east end of town because Sasuke's father and brother worked at the one on the west side.
A knock came at the door, and Sakura dropped her shirt back into place, eyes wide. Without having to check, she knew who it was, so she stared at the door with a frown while standing in the hall facing it.
What she didn't expect was for Madara to tell her what to do, "I know you're home, Sakura. Open the door."
Words got stuck in her throat. She couldn't speak.
"I'm coming in."
She lurched forward to try and lock the door, but it was open before she could manage it. The Uchiha man took one look at her, and his eyes suddenly seemed many shades darker. He turned as though he was about to leave, obviously to chase down Sasuke, but Sakura grabbed his arm, "No, don't!"
Madara allowed her to pull him the rest of the way inside and shut the door behind him but didn't say anything. Obviously, he was angry, and she'd never seen him that way, so it was off-putting.
Sakura felt like an awful friend, her guilt all over her face. She didn't know how to face her neighbor after what happened, so she avoided him at all costs. At first, it was because she was embarrassed at her mistake of thinking they'd slept together, but then it became because she knew he'd see right through any facade she tried to put up.
"I know what this looks like, but it's-" "You're an awful liar."
The woman's mouth closed. All she could do was stare back at him as he searched her face as though reading a book. A minute passed before he freed her gaze by averting his eyes down to her hands, which still held his arm. She flinched when he cautiously grabbed them, lifting them in his much larger ones to inspect the discolored skin around her wrists.
Her tears overflowed, "I'm sorry."
Madara's brow furrowed angrily, and his voice was cold in a way she'd never heard, "Why are you apologizing?"
Sakura gently pulled her hands away, and he let her. She turned to walk into her living room. He followed.
"Because I've been ignoring you. You probably thought I didn't want to be friends anymore," she tidied the messy pile of study materials on her dining table because she didn't want to chance to bend for the ones on the floor and visually react to the pain in her back in front of Madara, "I didn't want you to see me like this. It's pathetic."
"You busted a grown man's lip. That's not pathetic."
Sakura's eyes widened, and she turned to see him kneeling to pick up the books from the floor. He wasn't looking at her. She hadn't realized he'd seen Sasuke. It must've been why he came over today of all days.
"Why didn't you ask me for help? I would've-" "Because it's my problem, not yours. Besides, I have a plan," she cut the man off.
Madara placed the tall stack of medical tomes onto the table and offered a look that said he was waiting for her to continue.
Sakura sighed, explaining in short what she intended to do. When she was done, the man seemed as though he'd have smirked if the mood wasn't so serious, "I'm glad you're not an idiot."
He helped herself to her fridge, grabbed a water bottle, and handed it to her, "So you don't hate me, then?"
The woman accepted it, shaking her head, "I've actually missed you, believe it or not." Her face warmed slightly at the honest admission.
If she was being entirely truthful, Sakura didn't avoid him only because she was ashamed of her situation. It was because, when Madara made it clear they hadn't slept together, a teeny tiny part of her was disappointed. She didn't understand how or why, but it was a fact. Since then, she hasn't been able to look at him with friendly and innocent eyes.
Just now, when he was angry and glaring in the entryway, her stomach was doing summersaults because his jaw flexed with a masculinity she'd never seen.
The only man she's ever been physically close with has a great body, she knows because she's seen every inch, but he still had a youthful slenderness. The one in front of her was just so manly, so rugged. Bulging muscles made his arms, legs, and torso thick and strong. Though they haven't gotten close that many times, Sakura could never forget how little give his body has. When he hugged her when she was crying, he was just so solid.
Madara may be an Uchiha, but he and Sasuke are as different as night and day. Sasuke was polished and composed, barely a hair out of place, even when he was seething. Madara wasn't like that. No, his hair was thick and wild, and even though he desperately tries to mask his emotions, Sakura could immediately tell how he was feeling by looking into his eyes.
It was part of the reason she felt so close to him so quickly after meeting. It was also why she knew she had to keep her urges to herself.
Any time they get too close, she can see it clearly: Madara barely keeps himself from fleeing the situation. It's the truth whether he thought it was for her good or his. Sakura would never push him anyway because she knew his thoughts on sex and relationships. If heaven forbid they had slept together, she'd likely have woken up days later to find his apartment empty and for rent again.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
By his tone, Sakura could tell he understood her plan and wouldn't interfere if that was her wish. She appreciated his acceptance and hoped he comprehended that when she smiled, "No. Just having a friend is enough."
The throbbing in her back had her considering a change of response, but she hesitated because Madara was likely to feel awkward at such a request.
"What is it?"
'God, I have to get better at lying,' she internally cursed herself.
Her face warming, she averted her gaze to the bottle of water in her hands, anxiously fiddling with its cap, "I, uh, well…. Can you, um…." Madara stared at her expectantly, making her nervousness overflow. She sighed, "I'll just show you. Don't freak out, okay?"
Sakura retrieved the healing ointment from her bathroom before giving him a warning look, turning, and lifting the back of her shirt but keeping her arms in its holes so her front was adequately covered. The blush on her cheeks made the room feel like it was a million degrees in temperature.
She frowned at the ground, too shy to look back and see his response, "I know it's awkward, but can you put it on for me? I can't reach."
"I'm going to tie your hair up."
Madara's reply was so unexpected that the woman's spine straightened, "W-What?"
"It'll get in it if I don't."
Sakura's brow furrowed, and she squeezed her eyes closed, humiliated, but she nodded to give him the go-ahead.
Long fingers ran through her hair, expertly pulling it up into a ponytail before twisting it into a bun and tying it so it wouldn't touch her back. Having Madara touch her hair felt unexpectedly intimate. Sasuke barely ever does, even though he knows she likes it. A familiar heat pooled between Sakura's legs, her fingers tightening their grip on her shirt to help maintain her composure.
'I didn't expect this to be so hard to bear.'
She sucked in a gasp when a cold sensation suddenly met the skin in the center of her lower back. Chills and goosebumps climbed her spine. Her body was responding as if this was some sort of weird foreplay.
"Sorry. I should've warned you."
Sakura shook her head but couldn't speak, so she didn't try.
Madara continued.
Each moment his fingertips touched her skin made it harder to grasp her sanity. The heightened awareness of his every move was something the woman had never experienced, even when she first became intimate with Sasuke. Though the ointment was freezing cold, it felt like her body would catch flame.
Steady hands slid carefully beneath her bra's strap, cautious not to move too quickly lest he scare her or accidentally unhook it. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation on his part, though. The confidence was attractive to Sakura. She was jealous because something as simple as him touching her back had her ready to fall into a puddle of sexual frustration on the floor.
'He's way out of my league. I bet I'd make a fool of myself if we ever tried to hook up. It can't happen, Sakura. Don't even think about it.'
Sooner than she'd like, Madara was finished. She slid her shirt on, only to freeze when he pulled the hair tie out of her hair, her long pink locks unraveling to fall down her back. Holding her breath, she turned to look up at him. An odd emotion was in his eyes, one she hadn't seen before and couldn't define.
For a moment, neither person moved, but the Uchiha man eventually broke the silence, his gaze warming slightly, "Is it natural?"
Sakura was befuddled, "Huh?"
He fingered a strand of her hair that'd fallen over her shoulder, "Your hair. What's your natural color? Blonde?"
'What is this? It almost feels like he's flirting, but that can't be…right?'
"Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman if she dyes her hair?" She teased, skillfully hiding her shyness.
Madara's lips twitched, but he still didn't smile, "I didn't ask if you dyed it."
This topic was one Sakura'd heard many times over the years. Naturally pink hair is something most consider impossible, so only a few believe her when she defends herself. She smirked, averting the topic by reaching up to lightly tug a strand of his black locks, "No need to ask yours, Grandpa. How old were you when you went gray?"
Madara's brows lifted in surprise, making her feel giddy, before he shook his head, "You're lucky I respect you, or else I'd prove right now that I'm not gray."
Sakura's giddiness dissipated as a wild blush burnt her cheeks, earning an amused smirk from the tall man, "Pervert!"