Chapter 15: Cupboards, Credence and a Challenge

Sakura felt his presence fill the Great Hall. She set her cup down, fingers quivering. From fear or anticipation, she wasn't sure anymore. There was something foreign, a magic she couldn't name, and for a moment, she didn't know if she wanted her questions answered. But she shook off the thought.

The shadows cast from the dawn of morning seemed to stretch towards him. Beside him, Headmaster Namikaze's colorful brilliance seemed monochromatic. Sakura blinked. In fact, it was like the whole room had been cast in a photo filter.

Madara surveyed the tables again, and a shudder ran through Sakura's spine as she felt the look linger upon her table. When she realized it wasn't on her, she followed his gaze down the Ravenclaw table. He had found Itachi.

By now, others were noticing the newcomer and standing to see the stranger walking with the Headmaster. They, too, turned to look at Itachi when they noticed Madara's stare.

Itachi gave a nod of his head. The signal she was watching more closely for.

Time to move.

Sakura grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Itachi got up from his place and began walking towards his uncle. They passed in the walkway, not saying a word or acknowledging each other.

She made her way out through the central doorway and quickened her steps, only to come to a pause the moment she reached the staircase. She glanced behind her. Her hair floated unnaturally towards the Great Hall. A strange emptiness tugged upon her, like static electricity upon her skin. It filled her with a need to scratch like she'd walked into spiderwebs and needed to brush them away.

She hesitated at the sensations upon her skin, a feeling to return to the hall pulled upon her. Headmaster Namikaze's laughter broke her from her trance. The sound was close! They were going to catch her!

Sakura bolted, taking the stone stairs two at a time until she got to the same floor as the library. She slowed her pace down as she reached the corridor. She slipped behind the tapestry as the animated woven knight charged at her on his steed and into the small study room. Sakura took a few moments to catch her breath and brace herself. When she finally could breathe more naturally, she opened the cabinet, transformed, and hopped inside.

Creak. Creak. Click.

The light was gone. It was just her and the darkness. She focused on her racing heart, hoping it would not be too loud. She pressed one ear against the cabinet door, whiskers twitching with anticipation.

No strange feeling filled the air. Sakura's hair didn't move. No wind. Nothing. The earlier sensations had dissipated. She couldn't recall when, though. Had it been when she'd gone up several floors or when she'd transformed? Would she feel Madara's presence as a rabbit?

She shifted a bit, attempting to get more comfortable before they arrived. She should have taken Itachi's advice and tried to enlarge the space more. Eventually, she found a more comfortable position. She settled in, her head perked and ready for any sound of noise, waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting some more.

Had she really been running that fast? Shouldn't they have arrived by now?

She pressed her ear more firmly against the panel, listening for even the tiniest noise.

Nada.

She took a deep breath. Looks were deceiving in the magical world. Madara was probably a lot older than his appearance of fifty or sixty. Clearly, he was supposed to be like a grandfather or great-grandfather. The man was perhaps winded going up so many flights of stairs. Yes. That must be it.

Sakura shifted her body again, attempting to stretch a leg without much luck. If only she'd considered how long she actually would be waiting. It wouldn't be so bad if she had something to concentrate on. She could probably sit up straight while Madara and Itachi spoke. But right now, she only had to focus on her current discomfort. It would be nice to have room to lay down in.

Right, focus.

1… 2… She began counting her breaths. 99… 100… One more time.

Still nothing, and now her ear itched! She quickly scratched as quietly as possible but still made a thumping noise. Ok, she needed something that required brain power. Well, there was no time like the present to study.

She recited the 20 laws of food transfiguration internally for her upcoming test. Next, the 8 signs of a werewolf for Defence. Hmm... What other test was coming up soon? Wasn't there supposed to be a mid-term in Herbology? How many flies could the average venomous tentacula eat in a week?

Eventually, Sakura sighed and pressed her head against the door. She'd come to a conclusion. Madara must have been 150 and died on his way up.

Why were they so slow? Did the man have arthritis in both knees? Could wizards get arthritis?

She let out another sigh before bristling at her time-wasting. In light of Madara's visit, she should study that dark spell. She backed up until her rump was against the back of the cupboard. Now, swish and – oo, this felt weird without a proper wrist. Paws did not rotate very well. Swish and - ouch - she'd just flung her paw upon the door. Maybe she should think about potions? Ugh. No. No one in their right mind thought about potions when they didn't have to.

Why weren't they here?!

What if Madara didn't want to go up the stairs or knew of a better spot to talk with Itachi? Supposedly, the man had been a student here… He wasn't old enough to be a founder, right?

Suppose Madara was a walker and talker like her father. In that case, Itachi and Madara could be roaming the grounds, having one of the most incredible conversations of all time concerning dark magic. All while she was in this stupid cupboard.

She should have waited in the Great Hall to see where they went first. Itachi was a bit of a pushover; kick him enough in the kidneys, and he'd turn a page. Madara probably only had to point at the Great Hall door, and Itachi would have just nodded and gone along with him to the school grounds.

Her ears drooped. Itachi wouldn't let her down, right? He'd take notes. Err… Maybe that would be weird for a family conversation. Her dad had raised an eyebrow before when she did that as an eight-year-old and called her a journalist…

Hopefully, Itachi could regurgitate answers like Sasuke. He should at least be able to give her a highlight of the conversation.

But…

She'd really wanted to hear Madara for herself. She hit her face against the door. A lecture from Itachi would be like reading from the boring library version of the book instead of Itachi's personal annotated copy. Dry. Uninteresting. And likely unspirited since Itachi was precisely that when he tutored her in potions.

She wiggled. She needed to find them. Could she catch up and join in as a bunny buddy?

Her eyes glinted in the darkness with determination. She rammed her total weight against the door to leave.

Except… The door didn't open.

Odd.

She backed up a little bit, not having much space in the small shelf, and then put more effort into propelling forward, bracing her shoulder for impact.

The door didn't even give a creak.

Uh oh.

She clawed and scratched at the door. Why wasn't it letting her out?!

She was definitely going to miss them now.

She tried again. And again. To no avail. She even turned herself around. Facing towards the wall, she let her back legs kick out with as much force as she could against the door like a donkey. Pound, pound, pound.

Nothing. Not even a sliver of a gap!

She was going to die in the wardrobe! Die!

Frantically, she attempted to transform into a human, but it felt as if her bones would break before the doors would. GAAH!

She tried to ease her panting by using logic. She wouldn't actually die. Dying was bunny logic. Rabbits didn't like to feel trapped. She was overreacting.

Itachi would come for her.

It might take him the rest of the day or until tomorrow morning. But he'd know that she'd want to harass him about Madara, and the fact she didn't show would make him search for her.

She turned back around and sniffed the door where the crack was. All she smelled was dust. She let out a whimper.

She eased herself back down into an awkward side lean. All she had to do was be patient and not panic.

She could do this. She had patience. Loads of patience. It's not like she was Naruto.

And then her lower tummy made a gurgling little sound.

Her eyes widened. No. Nope. She didn't have to go to the bathroom. She barely had anything to eat or drink this morning. Ok, maybe she'd had a couple cups of tea.

Gurglemmmuuuurrrrgle.

What if Itachi waited until tomorrow? Sakura's eyes widened in horror. He would come to the conclusion she randomly defecated on things. What was worse was that he now knew who she was as a human.

She swallowed hard. She could hold it, right? Bunny bladders were better than human ones...

Who was she kidding? No, they weren't! Oh, why hadn't she thought to go to the bathroom before entering the room? She would have had enough time. She pressed her face against the door. Great. Just great.

tssssssshhhhh.

With a heavy sigh, Sakura covered her nose with the fur of her armpit as best as she could. Just a fart. If they walked in now… Madara would definitely know that there was an additional creature in the room. Itachi would probably think she was shitting all over the place for the hell of it. He'd probably give her one long stare before directing Madara back down through the Great Hall. Dark Arts, Uncle? I never asked a thing about them.

At least her stomach felt better now, even though it made breathing harder.

The smell dissipated, or at least it stopped stinking to her. Instead, Sakura was just bored. She'd already gone so far as to recite potion steps for Monday's exam. What a waste of a day. Had she known this would be how it would turn out, she would have just returned to bed and caught some shuteye.

Her eyes slowly blinked closed. Her nose twitched as her whiskers brushed the sides of the wardrobe. And there, just as she was about to fall asleep – every hair on her bunny body bolted upright. Even her ears shot into the air, smacking the shelving unit above.

And then she heard it. Two low but distinct voices. One of them was Itachi's! She sat up straighter. Her front paws tapped back and forth with excitement. She had to shift her weight to keep them from moving. But it wasn't all a good excitement either. Something inside her body screamed for her to run, bolt out of the cabinet and out of the room.

Not that she could.

The cabinet door wasn't going open, no matter how hard she hit it.

She heard their footsteps, and Itachi's clear tone rang out. "This is where I thought we could talk."

Well, ready or not, she would get the answers to her questions. She stretched her ear flat upon the crack in the cabinet to capture any sound. She could hear several transfiguration spells being cast and soft tones of cushions being sat upon.

"What did you think about–" Itachi began, but Madara cleared his throat deeply.

Itachi let out a sigh. "Revealio," Itachi cast. "See, no one is here, Uncle."

"We are almost at war. Always believe someone is here. Revealio is far too standard now. I expect more diligence than that. The more unexpected, the better. Watch the wand movements," Madara commanded.

Was it going to be a dark spell? Sakura's bottom almost started wiggling. She was going to force Itachi to show her later. He better be paying attention!

"Now the incantation. Uri Pulvis In Nasum."

Nasum was nose, what was—

The sensation, an itch so great, filled her nostrils. "Acchoo!" The sneeze came out so fast that she bonked her head against the wooden side. Ow! Her eyes watered, and her nose still felt like she would die if she didn't – "A-choo!"

The cupboard doors flew open, and Sakura was yanked into the air and flew to the couch towards the two Uchiha sitting upon it. Itachi's eyes widened. Although he looked stricken - he didn't give away the game.

On the other hand, Madara had a smile so dark, like a man who liked to torture rabbits in his spare time and was delighted to have caught one.

Aaah! A dark sneezing spell! Ingenious. And it would lead to her doom!

The dark eyes were on her, practically ripping her in two.

"Doesn't take much, does it," Madara said. She could taste his magic, like a black licorice-flavored frozen custard. It lingered, viscous, on her tongue. The aura surrounding him swirled just like the letter seal. It sucked at the fire and light from the room. Dark magic, casting shadows where light ought to be.

She did not want this man pointing a wand at her. Not that he was. His wand rested in the hand in his lap. No wand was in the hand stretched before her, holding her up. Red light, like embers from a crackling fire, emitted from the rings upon his fingers only to be sucked towards him in a swirl. Seven rings glistened in total.

Madara's stare drifted from her to the cupboard.

Sakura's gaze followed his.

The white chalk and runes were all smeared and scratched from her escape attempts. Most of the runes were indiscernible. Not that Sakura had known what several of them had been.

Madara made a strange sound at the back of his throat, which sounded suspiciously ominous, like a villain's laugh. "It looks like you locked yourself in there." His gaze was back on her, and she gulped. "Not the brightest fairy light in the forest."

Wait. Was that an insult?

He snapped his fingers, and she dropped onto the couch cushion unceremoniously with a foof between the two Uchiha.

Now that she'd been discovered… did Madara think she was a real bunny? Could she just casually ask for earpets and get to listen to the conversation without having to hide? Why hadn't Itachi just done that, to begin with? His mother was aware he had a bunny familiar… But now it would be weird because of the runes on the door, right?

She stretched a bit and sniffed at Madara's robes. Attempting to look innocent and animalistic. The licorice smell was quite overpowering, even on his clothing. A heavy hand brushed at her head unexpectedly, causing her to bolt backward into Itachi.

However, Madara wasn't looking at her; his gaze was focused behind her on Itachi.

Sakura glanced back, and Itachi looked a bit paler than usual. Something passed between them, though neither spoke. Sakura felt a human need to run away although her bunny instincts said to keep still, don't attract his gaze.

The dark smile upon Madara's face crept up further on the corners, and he turned his attention to her.

Before she could bolt, he reached out again towards her, this time more slowly, gently lifting her chin. He ran a thumb upon her snout. His rings glinted, and the smell of licorice became a thick taste in her mouth.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Haruno. I've heard much about you."

Even the tips of her ears stiffened. Was it getting harder to breathe? How did he know her name? Was he going to hurt her? She could feel the pounding of her heartbeat in her paws.

His gaze lifted from her to look at Itachi again. "Have we fallen out of rapport, Itachi? Why did Shisui need to inform me of Ms. Haruno's interest in my work?"

What!? How did Shisui know anything?

"You did have me fooled for a day. I was excited to hear of your interest in the Dark." Madara's lips twisted down and into a frown. "Honestly, that perhaps is the biggest disappointment of all. You haven't changed your mind..."

The silence in the room felt thick and heavy with tension. A sheen of sweat glistened on Itachi's brow.

"The questions weren't rhetorical. I am asking for an explanation."

"I apologize, Uncle," Itachi said. "I was merely attempting to enable a conversation between you and Ms. Haruno."

"Tch," Madara's mouth clicked together as if he'd tasted something sour. "Mediate a conversation, not enable. And I do not like my conversations mediated."

"I thought that -"

"I would not advise or reply to Ms. Haruno's questions if signed in her name? If you transcribed Ms. Haruno's questions and my answers, that there would be some form of mentorship established between us? At least Shisui had half a brain to inform me before harm could come to Ms. Haruno from this subterfuge. Your distaste of the subject leads you to be uninformed, and that would likely lead to improper translation on both our parts, which could very well lead to her death."

Itachi's cheeks tinted pink, and he dropped his gaze. "That was not my intent."

"I would hope not."

"I'm sorry."

"Thankfully, the only harm has been made to my credence in the transparency between us." Madara's gaze fell to her.

She gulped.

Madara continued, "I suspect that given enough time, even that can be repaired." Madara relieved his hand from her chin and patted her head. "At least I should hope."

"Of course, sir."

"Hn," was Madara's reply.

The tone and inflection was so perfect that Sakura would have thought Sasuke was in the room. At least she knew who he'd taken the vocal habit from.

Madara then removed his hand from her head and looked between her and Itachi. He let out a long sigh before slipping his wand into his sleeve's holster. He drew several symbols in the air with his other hand, the one with the rings. The trail of his finger left an almost fiery wake - like a sparkler.

Sakura only recognized the rune for silence and wall boundaries. Some sort of privacy ward?

"Leave."

Happy to flee before Madara directed whatever ire likely continued to brew beneath his skin, Sakura sprung from the cushion. But she froze in the air at another finger snap.

"Itachi, leave," Madara clarified, his dark gaze finally flicking up to meet his nephew. His expression softened to something close to both pleading and pity. "Unless you've any interest in the Dark Arts."

"I do not." Itachi dipped his head and shook it.

Madara's lips pinched together. "Go, fetch your book you've been letting her read then."

Itachi gave a long look at Sakura and then turned and left.

The fire dimmed even more with Itachi's presence gone from the room. The shadows seemed to creep down the side of the walls. The chill in her spine increased tenfold. Everything inside of her screamed that she needed to run. Her legs moved in the air, though, with no traction.

She was floated back to the couch cushion and dropped once more unceremoniously on the couch.

The soft expression was gone now. Even though Madara's face was blank of emotion, the hard lines of his cheeks and age made him seem rather sinister.

Sakura wished Itachi had never left her alone with him.

"Transform," Madara said simply. His dark eyes again looked like they were inspecting her soul and found it lacking.

Sakura hesitated. No way. She wasn't going to transform in front of him. He'd put her in prison or —

"The choice is yours on what impression you wish to make upon me. Finding you locked in a cupboard implies a significant lack of foresight and intelligence. Are you perhaps locked in the rabbit's body, too? Incapable of turning yourself back? Dark magic is significantly more challenging than transfiguration and deadly to the stupid."

And there it was, a challenge tossed to her.

He was likely a liar. He'd already formed his opinion of her. That she was just some foolish muggle-born witch, uneducated, and pathetic. Shisui had probably informed him of her failing grade in potions.

She could see how this would play out. Nothing really was going to change Madara's mind about her. He'd likely get her expelled or call the aurors on her. But... She fluffed her fur and sat up straight. She would love to make him eat his words.