"Kusuri, Dear. It's time to go; wake up."
Madara's gentle voice roused a sleepy and confused Sakura. Her arms were still wrapped around his one, and her cheek had been resting against it, too. Green eyes blinked slowly as her memories returned, and she gingerly released the limb, nodding while still half-asleep, "...Buki."
The Uchiha man nodded, the corner of his lips tugging into a smirk as she stood, rubbing her eyes with a frown.
'I was too nervous to sleep before the flight. That, plus the stress, must've knocked me out,' she thought.
Her boyfriend interlaced their fingers and silently led her off the plane and through the airport, where they retrieved their bags. Somewhere between baggage claim and the exit, Sakura finally fully awoke. The woman was anxious in such an unfamiliar place but tried to think positively, 'I might never have visited Otogakure, so I should pay attention and try to enjoy at least the sights.'
When the duo stepped outside through the automatic doors, they saw a dark car with tinted windows. A tall, dark-haired man with a scar covering almost the entirety of one side of his face leaned casually against it, grinning eagerly with a wave when he noticed them, "Long time no see!"
Madara opened the backseat door for Sakura and gestured for her to sit, so she did, nervously gritting her teeth when he shut it behind her. She watched as he and the stranger opened the trunk to put their luggage into it. They whispered so even she couldn't hear their words.
Sighing, the woman gave up trying to read their lips and faced forward to look around the high-end vehicle. The seats were leather, tan, and in perfect condition, as though this was the first time the car was being used. There weren't fingerprints or dust on the dash, either.
'Either this is a brand new car, or that man has OCD.'
The two men eventually got into the vehicle, Madara sitting up front, so Sakura was the only one in the backseat. Once they were moving, albeit slowly due to the airport traffic, the man glanced at her in the rearview mirror with another cheerful grin, "You're just as beautiful as I imagined. Nice to meet you. My name is Tobi."
Sakura's face warmed ever so slightly, but Madara cut off her response, "Don't flirt."
Tobi snickered mischievously, winking at her in the mirror, "I'm not! When you told me you were bringing a companion, I was surprised. For her to have tamed a monster like you, I knew she had to be the best of the best," he waggled his brows at the Uchiha man, "I was right, wasn't I?"
"Don't call him that," Sakura said coldly.
Madara turned to look at her with confusion, the driver looking in the rearview mirror again, "What's that, sweetheart?"
She frowned, steeling her nerves, "Don't ever call him that."
Maybe it was dumb to immediately press her luck with this stranger, but if Sakura didn't stand up for Madara, then no one else would, and she wouldn't let that happen. The two looked at one another up front before Tobi lifted a defensive hand, chuckling sheepishly, "My bad. I won't do it again."
The car became silent and remained that way for a long time. Sakura crossed her arms, goosebumps dusting her skin as she stared unblinkingly at the driver. For some reason, she couldn't pinpoint, she didn't trust him. Not at all. Every alarm in her body was sounding on full blast.
'That smile he keeps putting up is fake as can be. It's obvious, so why does he keep doing it?'
An hour later, they pulled up to a house in the center of town. It looked like any other building on the street, middle-class in quality, brick, and possessing a strange, welcoming aura. When Madara opened the door, Sakura stepped out of the car, sparing him a short glance before training her eyes back on the other man. The trio went inside once the luggage was retrieved from the trunk.
Comfortable-looking furniture decorated the family room on the other side of the door. The image could've come right off the cover of a magazine. Someone else might've looked at it and complimented the owner on their interior design, but the Haruno girl could only glare. It was obvious the room had never been used. It was a little too perfect.
"This way, follow me," Tobi chimed before leading the pair through the house to a door that led to a long staircase downward. Ice swept over Sakura's entire body as she looked down, taking an untrusting step away from the man.
'What if we go down there, and he locks it?'
Madara, obviously picking up on her unease, nodded toward the steps, "Go on. It's alright." The woman's breathing was uneven, and her brow furrowed, but she followed her boyfriend when he decided to go first to prove his words true.
An entirely furnished family room, reminiscent of the one upstairs, awaited at the bottom of the steps. The only difference was that this one was actually used.
"So, how'd you two troublemakers meet? I want all the juicy details," Tobi asked while the trio walked through the room and into another, this one a bedroom. For a moment, Sakura was reminded of Ino because she'd said something like that, but she quickly shook off the notion.
When neither Madara nor her answered, instead wordlessly sitting their suitcases on the bed and facing him, the tall man tilted his head with another fake grin, "Sheesh, what's with you two?" Gasping, he lightly placed his fist in his palm, "I know. You must be hungry! Let me go grab something to eat, and then we can talk. Deal?"
Madara nodded, a slight smirk on his handsome face, "Barbecue?"
Tobi pointed at him, grin widening as his excitement returned, "Sounds like a plan! Give me an hour. I'll be back with the goods," he walked toward the door, only to pause and turn to face them again, pointing at Sakura and joking, "I hope you lighten up with a little food in your belly or this is going to be awkward."
The woman bristled, earning a snicker from the man as he turned and fled up the stairs, thankfully leaving the door open instead of shutting it.
It remained quiet as the two unpacked their clothing. Once done, Madara sat on the edge of the bed and looked over her appearance as she finished zipping up her empty suitcase and knelt to slide it under the bed for storage, "He's a little annoying, but he typically means well."
Sakura rose to her feet, facing him hesitantly until he outreached a hand. Then, she took it and allowed him to pull her down to straddle his lap, accepting doting kisses with her arms resting on his shoulders.
"At least we don't have to do much acting in public," he tried when their lips parted, obviously trying to comfort his girlfriend somehow.
She hugged him, resting her cheek on his shoulder and staring blankly at the yellow paint on the wall, "I guess so." Sakura didn't mean to be short with him, she was just so uncomfortable. Maybe Madara was used to staying in random places, but she very much was not. It'll take her a couple of days to adjust. Until then, the woman was completely and totally on edge.
'At least I know he'll protect me if something happens,' her arms tightened around him as she tried to calm her thoughts, fingers loosely clutching handfuls of the shirt on his back.
"...I know this isn't easy. I'll do what I can to make you comfortable, Sakura."
A few tears managed to slip from her eyes, but she quickly stopped it before it could get out of hand. Sniffling once, she wiped her cheeks and straightened her spine. Madara's eyes warmed affectionately, making the Haruno woman's stomach flip and turn with adoration. Unable to entirely control her emotions, she kissed him again, running her finger slowly into his hair, massaging his scalp momentarily before brushing her nose against his.
Eyes still closed, she whispered, "As long as you're with me, I'll be alright."
He captured her lips again, holding her hips firmly with his large hands, "Thank you." Sakura understood that he was grateful to her for not blaming everything on him and for not hating him. Half-lidded green eyes bore into his dark ones as they returned to their kiss.
'What the hell's wrong with me? I'm terrified right now, but all I can think about is….'
Madara also seemed surprised by her heated mood and spoke deeply against her lips, slipping his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt, "We have to be quick. He'll be back soon."
She nodded, eagerly closing the distance between them now that she knew they were on the same page. Slowly, the man lifted her, only to turn so her back was on the mattress, and he knelt between her legs.
Clearly, he didn't want to stop kissing her as he hesitated to pull away long enough to remove either of their shirts. At some point, he obviously opted to forgo the act and slid Sakura's leggings and underwear down her legs, turning her onto her side as he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, allowing them to lower on his hips enough that he could pull himself free of the clothing.
Sakura hissed when he slid into her, gasping next when he bent over her, hands on the bed to either side of her shoulders as he began moving. Her clothes were at her knees, so she couldn't part her legs. Though her lower body was turned onto its side, she twisted her torso forward so she could desperately grasp either of his wrists and hold on for dear life instead of moaning aloud.
Long strands of thick black hair fell over Madara's shoulder like a curtain as his eyes studied her responses like a jaguar stalking its prey. A minute or two passed as Sakura's insides tightened steadily in response to his expertise but flexed in surprise when he suddenly whispered, voice laced with irritation, "Damn it…. We'll finish this later."
"H-Huh?!" She asked, completely stunned by his statement, only for him to pull out and swiftly begin fixing his clothing.
That was when the woman heard footsteps descending the stairs and fumbled to follow Madara's lead so Tobi wouldn't see her in a very indecent state. Somehow, the couple managed to get it together before the man could reach their level, but Sakura couldn't get rid of the blush on her face as they sat down at the dining table.
"So, you're a meat eater, then?" Tobi absently asked while unbagging the food he'd procured. He seemed to be the type that didn't like silence, so he tried to fill it with empty conversation.
"I'm not a vegetarian if that's what you're asking," the girl's blush warmed further when Madara handed her a glass of something dark with a knowing wink.
The Haruno woman didn't realize how hungry she was until a plate was in front of her, but she hesitated to touch anything until the new arrival first took a bite. Even if her boyfriend trusted him, her instincts disagreed. It couldn't hurt to be cautious either way, so that was what she did.
Watching Tobi chew, she sipped her drink, paying the fact that it was straight whiskey little mind.
The man noticed, lifting an intrigued brow and covering his mouth with the back of his hand so she wouldn't see as he spoke around his food, "A woman after my own heart, drinking liquor like its water. Do you have a sister you can hook me up with or something?"
Madara chuckled, surprising Sakura with his casual demeanor, "Don't let her fool you. She can stomach the taste, but she's a lightweight."
"H-Hey!" She sat the glass down with a pout, eyes narrowed at the Uchiha man, "I have at least an average tolerance."
It was suddenly as though Tobi was no longer there, and the couple was back in Madara's apartment, flirting over dinner.
"I beg to differ."
"Oh yeah? How so?"
Madara's smirk lifted into a grin, his head tilting confidently, "Tequila."
Sakura's eyes widened, and she argued with a bright red face, "No, that's not fair! You were supposed to feed me, but you didn't! I had an empty stomach."
"I tried, remember? If I recall correctly, you said, "The only thing I'm hungry for is-"
"Okay, that's enough. You win. Shut up."
The night in question was a few days after Christmas, when they, Ino, and Sai were stuck indoors and running out of things to do to pass the time.
Tobi suddenly laughed, wiping a tear when he calmed down a minute later, "I was confused earlier. I couldn't figure out how Madara would fall for someone so cold. Were you just nervous?"
The woman averted her gaze to her plate, chewing a bite of chicken and feeling humiliated that Madara had said all that in front of another person. Rather than verbally respond, she just nodded.
'If we're going to be stuck together for a long time, I should at least try to give him a chance. Maybe I'm overreacting.'
"Aw, well, I forgive you. Let's get along, okay?"
Sakura nodded again, bashfully clinking her glass against his when he offered.
Madara smirked amusedly as he watched and listened to Sakura argue with Tobi about which meat was better: chicken or beef. All three had had a few glasses already. As he suspected, his cute little girlfriend was visibly drunker than either.
'...That said. Just look at her. How is it possible for someone to look like that while completely hammered?'
A charming red hue dusted the woman's cheeks and nose, causing the green in her eyes to appear brighter. Her grin was wide and free, unlike how it'd been for the past few days. A healthy glow was about her skin like she'd spent the day in the sun.
Tobi shot him a glance, wordlessly communicating that the now-blonde-haired woman was entertaining. Madara hadn't worried if his acquaintance would like her or not. He didn't care. That was why he didn't try to convince Sakura to trust him earlier. It was clear that her gut was telling her the man was dangerous, and that was a good thing. He wasn't going to deter her from that feeling. If he told her to disregard her intuition, she might make a mistake later on by ignoring it. No, it was safer for her to remain hyper-aware, as stressful as that might be.
The woman in question tossed her head back to giggle attractively, running her fingers through her hair to push it out of her face, causing the Uchiha man's heart to uncharacteristically flutter.
'...Tonight, though, she can relax. I owe her that much.'
An hour later, Sakura nearly fell asleep at the table, so Madara carried her into the bedroom and put her in bed with a glass of water on the nightstand should she wake up before he arrived later.
Coming back out, the man sat across from Tobi at the table with a sigh. It seemed so quiet in her absence. Since she wasn't around, the Otogakure resident didn't bother dawning his overly-cheerful facade in an attempt to ease her fear. Instead, he sipped his drink with a severe expression, "You're a real asshole, you know that?"
Madara nodded, but the man continued berating him anyway.
"How could you trap someone like her in this lifestyle? She's so….breakable. How will she survive?"
The Uchiha man's eyes shot up to meet his in a glare. He was okay with being talked down to because he deserved it for ruining Sakura's life like he had, but a line had to be drawn, "She's not some fragile little girl."
Tobi scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Sure." His tone suggested he was unconvinced.
Madara's glare hardened further, but he took a deep breath and let it go, not allowing himself to get worked up because that was just what his colleague liked to see, "Underestimate her and see what happens."
The room was silent for a long moment before the Otogakure man stretched his arms above his head, sighing wistfully before leaning heavily into the chair's back, "Well, whatever. Let's talk about you. What exactly is your plan?"
"Did you find anything out yet?" He'd asked Tobi to put some feelers out to try and determine whether or not Danzo's previous employees that weren't at the auction had knowledge of what happened.
Tobi's gaze sharpened. Madara knew what that meant before the words left his mouth and wanted to hit something.
"The rumor is that a mysterious new woman appeared, seduced the man, and instigated the massacre. I don't know if anyone knows her name, but pink hair, green eyes, and from Konoha will be enough for them to figure it out. There aren't many people walking around with those traits."
He cursed under his breath, "Fuck." Not only was Sakura wanted by the police, at least in Konoha, but now he'd have to hunt down who knows how many of Danzo's loyal agents. He'd hoped if news had been spread about that night, it'd at least be that he was to blame.
Madara glanced at the bedroom's closed door, where the woman he loves was sleeping in blissful ignorance that well-trained murderers would soon be on their trail.
'I'll tell her tomorrow. Tonight, I'll let her rest peacefully.'
