Midnight Ride 2

Trigger warning: Blood, needles, getting blood work done.

He sighed as he felt an itching his wounds. He decided that the trip to the clinic in the ER was needed. He slipped into his car and attempted to back out of his driveway but couldn't do it one handed. He cursed under his breath, only to put the car back in and pull out his phone. He dialed Hashirama's number and waited as the phone rang. His back felt scalding hot and it hurt so very much. Not even his pain meds were dulling the ache at this point.

He didn't know when exactly this feeling had started, but it couldn't be good no matter what. He resisted the urge to rub his back against the seat while he waited for Hashirama to answer. It went to voicemail, and he decided he was going to go down the line and call people until someone answered. He called Izuna next, despite knowing he was sleeping for work. He should be getting up for work sometime soon though, so he had to wake up anyways.

Izuna didn't answer either. He was not about to call an ambulance for this bullshit. He looked through his list of numbers and his eyes softened as he landed on his father's contact. Fuck it. He hit the dial button and waited the phone rang. "Hello?" thank goodness he answered. "Hey dad..." he sighed, and the man also sighed on the other end. "What is it now, Madara? What could you possibly need?" his father grumbled, and he felt his chest clench in pain at the tone his father was using towards him.

He deserved it though, after everything he put them through. "I need help dad." he said, and he waited for his father to say something... to say anything. "Are you high right now?" His father asked, and the stabbing pain returned to his chest. A frown tugged at his lips, and he felt his eyes stinging. "No... Dad... I saved a girl and got hurt pretty badly... I just need someone to take me to the hospital. I think my wounds are infected." he said softly, trying to control the wavering of his tone so his father didn't know he was upset.

"Listen Madara... I can't help you... please don't call again. I don't trust you." he said, only to hang up immediately after. His eyes burned with unshed tears, and he tried to blink them away, but they streaked down over his cheeks anyways. He couldn't say he didn't deserve that honestly, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He gripped his phone and pressed his uninjured wrist to his eyes to hide his tears from any neighbors that might be watching.

His shoulders shook with the force of his unheard sobs. He couldn't afford to let anyone see him this way. He forced himself to stop crying, but when he looked in the mirror his eyes were already bloodshot. He knew he was to blame for his father not trusting him. He was an addict after all, once an addict always an addict. There was no redemption for him in his father's eyes. He swallowed softly and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his wrist over his eyes once more to dry any remaining tears.

It had been a year since the last time he had gotten high, he wished his parents would be proud of him, but they didn't even want to hear about his progress. He was holding steady and hadn't had the slightest craving to get high. The last time he had gotten high... was after Mei. He had dosed up because he knew he fucked up his friendship with Tobirama, but Tobirama himself had told him they were friends again and that he no longer owed him anything.

He sighed and leaned his head against the headrest. He slipped his arm out of the sling he had been given to keep him from moving that arm while it healed. He took in the bandages that littered his wrist and upper arm. Those were minor grazes, they didn't require stitches and seemed to be healing well. It was the ones on his back and shoulders that seemed to be angry and inflamed. He grimaced as he adjusted in his seat and gripped the steering wheel in both hands.

He put the car in reverse and backed out of his driveway. He managed to get into the street, although he was hurting already. He put the car in and slowly made his way to the hospital. He managed to get parked, albeit crooked. He stepped out of his car and made his way up the small hill to the ER front doors. He walked in and stepped up to the desk. "Do you need to see a doctor?" the woman asked, and he nodded. "Yes ma'am..." he said as he glanced around the empty waiting room.

He was glad he had come when he had, because when he had left a week ago it was packed out here. "Name?" "Madara Uchiha, twelve, twenty-four." he said. He didn't want to list his birth year because it always made him feel old. He was only thirty, but it still made him feel old. Shit just didn't work like it used to; everything hurts nowadays. "What can we help you with this afternoon?" she asked, and he frowned.

"I think my wounds are infected. They feel hot and they hurt." he said, and she nodded as she typed away at the computer. "Alright Mr. Uchiha, they will be right around to Triage you if you'll have a seat." she said with a smile. He nodded and took his seat right up front, there was no reason to sit in the back of the room when he was the only one there. He sat for only a minute before a nurse made his way over to him and called his name. "I'm Yusuke, I'm going to check on your injuries before you go back and let them know what is going on." he greeted and Madara nodded as he stood, following the man soon after.

He sat in the triage room and the man unwrapped his wounds carefully. He flinched every time the bandages were unwound from around him. He could feel his heartbeat in the injuries once more and he hated it more than anything. "Yikes man, what happened to you?" the man asked, and he looked up at him with unamused eyes. "I saved a woman's life." he bit out softly, only for the man's eyes to widen a fraction. "Sorry." he apologized, only to have him turn to face the wall and sit cross legged on the stretcher in the room.

He prodded the wound and Madara grunted in pain every time the man prodded the stab wounds. "Yeah... good thing you came in. You might not want to put your shirt back on." the nurse advised, to which he just sighed and tucked the black shirt under his arm. "I won't get in trouble for walking around half naked will I?" he asked, and the man frowned. "If they have a problem with you being shirtless just turn and show them your back, they'll understand after that." the nurse said with a wave of the hand.

"However, I'm going to go ahead and swab the wound to get a culture running to see what kind of infection you have." he said, which made Madara grimace. "Do you have to?" he asked, and the nurse frowned yet again. "Only if you want antibiotics that'll get rid of this." he said and Madara frowned this time. "Do what you gotta do man." he sighed and waved his hand in the air in a whatever manner.

His eyes went wide as the man dabbed the swab into one of his stab wounds and twisted. He grit his teeth and was fully prepared to whirl on the man and hit him, but he knew he couldn't do that without repercussions. "Damn..." he grunted as the man did it again with another swab. "What the fuck..." he managed as the swab left his wound. He looked back at the nurse who just used the swabs on a petri dish with a sheepish look. "Sorry man... I know it sucks." was all he had to say in apology.

He had never heard of anyone swabbing the wound before, but he was no medical expert. He looked over his shoulder to see the man swiping the swabs on the dish still. He clipped the lid onto the dish and labeled them. He bagged them up and sealed it with tape. He raised a brow as he watched the man work. "Alright I just need to get a couple more things from you and then you can go out there and wait for them to call you back." he said with a smile.

The man took his blood pressure, which was no doubt high judging from the look on his face. He took his temp and no doubt that was also high, he was freezing and sweating his ass off all at the same time. Then he took his weight. Madara grimaced as he looked at his weight. It was up there too. He couldn't complain though honestly, in his venture to get sober he had put on muscle. There was not an ounce of fat on his body... at least he hoped. He had worked hard to get the physique he had, he wanted to be proud of himself for something.

"Alright man, you're good to go. A tech will come get you in a minute." he said and opened the door to the room for him to leave. He snatched his shirt off the stretcher and vacated the room. He made his way down the hall in the waiting room and to the seat right next to the double doors. All they had to do was give him a room number and he could go there. He had been in here plenty of times before just staring at the numbers over the doors.

He sighed as he leaned forward in his chair and buried his face in his hands. He hated this place so much. His eyes caught sight of the scars on his wrists and he grimaced once more. He had been through hell and back. He was still standing though; he had made it despite all odds. He was still alive in this world. "Madara?" a familiar voice called and he leaned up to look at the person who had called his name.

"Ashura... hello." he greeted softly, his eyes locking onto hers. Her eyes softened and she crouched next to him and placed a hand on his knee. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her tone genuinely caring. He jabbed a thumb at his back, and she stood to look over his wounds once more with calculative eyes. "Damn... I'm sorry they got infected. I tried my best to make sure they wouldn't." She said with a frown.

"I don't think It was anything to do with you. I think I'm just shitty at wrapping bandages." he sighed as he looked over to her where she was crouched beside him once more, just watching him with those sharp eyes of hers. She drew him in with those eyes that haunted his dreams. The long white lashes fluttering over the shining silver would not leave him alone. He would say she was albino, but she had silver eyes instead of the usual pink... or red ones like Tobirama.

She patted his knee lightly and he looked over to her once more. "I'll take good care of you tonight too, come with me." she said as the tech came up to her. She took the paperwork from the tech and wrapped his wristband around his wrist. An amused glint lingered in her eyes for a moment before she offered him a hand to help him up. He took her hand, and he couldn't help but notice how soft her hands were. And tiny, they were very tiny compared to his much larger ones. They fit perfectly against despite the size difference, he noticed in the back of his mind.

These were thoughts he would never share with her. He didn't know why he was suddenly so drawn to her, but he had to kill it and fast. He couldn't risk corrupting such an innocent person. "Christmas eve baby huh? And you're a year older than me. Interesting." she mused softly, which made him eye her oddly. She had paid that much attention to detail just by wrapping it around his wrist. "Observant one." he muttered, and she smiled at him.

This smile caused his eyes to widen ever so slightly and his heart to race in his chest. He couldn't understand why this woman he didn't even know made him feel this way. He didn't like it one bit. He wasn't willing to open up to anyone anymore. He didn't want to because he only hurt people. That was all he was good for, hurting those around him. He sighed and dropped his head slightly, hoping this went unnoticed by the woman beside him.

"Are you ok?" she asked and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm just hurting." he said and she offered a soft smile. "I'm sorry you're in pain, Madara." she whispered and he shrugged, only to regret it immediately as a string of curses left his lips soon after. That hurt more than he would like to admit. She just turned an exasperated look on him as he shuffled down the hallway in pain. "I was going to ask why you're shirtless as well, but I see why. Thought maybe you were just putting on a little show." she sighed wistfully after a moment, and he raised a brow and smirked.

"I mean if you like what you see why, don't you just say so?" he asked, his tone deepening to a husky one as he said this. "Down boy aht! aht!" She in amusement. She was flirting with him to take his mind off the pain for a moment, he noticed with a chuckle. She wasn't serious in the slightest. A sigh threatened to escape his lips at this. He wanted her to be serious with him, but he also didn't. He really didn't know what he wanted, and it was giving him a headache.

He knew she wasn't going to endure his bullshit though and he liked that. He followed along behind her with the slightest bit of pep to his step. He was in a good mood despite the way he felt like shit. Madara repressed a yawn, he was exhausted and hadn't slept well because he was always in pain anymore. He glanced over at her, and a smirk tugged across his lips. He was an ass man, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. His gaze dropped to her posterior once more and he had to admire it for a moment.

The way her scrubs accentuated her ass was a pleasing view to him. He grimaced as soon as the thought entered his mind. Even in pain he was still a flirt, he noticed as he tore his gaze away from her backside. His eyes drifted up to her face and she had the slightest pink tint to her cheeks, although the irritated look that was plastered on her face was not what he would have preferred to see.

He sighed and opened his mouth to apologize but she shook her head with a sharp gleam in her silver eyes. "Not a word. Not even one comes from your mouth right now." She hissed softly, only for the blush to flood her cheeks a little darker. A chuckle escaped him, and she whipped her head to look at him. The incredulous look on her face was even more priceless, so he burst out into wholehearted laughter.

Her cheeks puffed out and she snapped her head away from him. He knew she probably couldn't stand him, but that was ok honestly. He didn't need her to like him, not the way he was anyways. He wasn't deserving of it. He sighed and rubbed his injured arm slightly, only to wince as the throbbing of his injuries resumed tenfold. She led him to a room and made sure to hold the paperwork over her backside as she led him through the door.

He pouted inwardly, he wanted to sneak another glance. He snapped away from that thought and made his way over to the stretcher in the room. He slid up onto it and she asked him if he wanted her to lean the headrest flat. He nodded, he would have done it himself, but he didn't know how. "If you need to adjust it back up it's this yellow handle right here. Just grab and squeeze." She said and he opened his mouth to release a flirtatious comment, and as if sensing it she whipped her head up at him once more, her eyes staring daggers into him.

"Anyways..." she began with a sigh, "I will need you to turn this way, kinda sideways." She said and motioned for him to turn with her hands. He did as instructed and crossed his legs before him. This was honestly annoying because he had wanted to hurry up and get this shit healed up so he would be able to ride his bike again. It was his therapy, even though he knew he could use some actual therapy, there was something about pure speed that he enjoyed more than talking.

"So, what are they going to do?" he grumbled, which made her look over at him curiously. "They're going to have to take a look and see before they do anything. I know Yusuke got the cultures out front but those won't come back for a few days." She explained and he groaned, rubbing his good hand over his eyes. "Then what was the point?" he growled, and she gave him a pointed look. "Don't get sassy with me, Madara. It helps you in the long run because we are going to give you broad spectrum antibiotics at first, but we can narrow it down to what you really need later and give you those if the broad spectrum ones don't work." She explained and he nodded.

He understood it when she put it that way. "Now I have to go talk to your nurse." She said and he furrowed his brows. He thought she was going to be the one taking care of him. "I have to make sure they're ok with not getting a new patient, like I said, I'm going to take care of you tonight no matter what." She said and he felt his lips tug up into the slightest of smiles. He appreciated her candor.

"Thank you." He said and she eyed him silently, only for a smile to cross her lips as well. "Of course... I told you I would." She said as she slipped past the curtain and out of the room. She came back about fifteen minutes later and leaned around the curtain to look at him. "He said he's ok with me taking you from him, he's already got six patients and I just got on shift." She said and his eyes widened the slightest bit. The man had to take care of six different people at once? The nursing field was definitely never going to be for him, but this ensured it.

"I admire the man's work ethic; I couldn't do it." He said with a sigh as he leaned forward on the bed. "Yeah, that's just scratching the surface of it. We are lucky down here. That is the max we usually get, if even that. We have some nights where the max we get is three because we are properly staffed. Other nights when we are low on people, we could have many more. Then I don't envy the floor nurses either. They have that many and sometimes more of the same patient all night long." She explained and a smile crossed her lips.

"Most of us are here because we genuinely want to help people. I don't mean to complain." She said and he shook his head. "I never thought you were." He said, which made her smile widen the slightest bit. She ducked back out of the room with a promise to return, only for someone to knock on his door and slip into the room when he told them they could come in. "Hi, I'm Umeko. I have to get a bit of blood from you." She said and a grimace crossed his features.

"You can't use this arm, it's injured, and I'm not supposed to move it much. You'll have to forgive me, I have scarring so my veins are not the best in the slightest." He muttered as he held out his good arm to her. "Thank you for letting me know. I will be as gentle as possible, ok?" she assured him, but he couldn't help but feel like perhaps he should get Ashura back in here to help her out. He refrained from sighing and allowed her to do her job.

She smiled at him and tied the tourniquet around his upper arm and began palpating his scar tissue. "Do you mind me asking what blood work you're getting?" he asked, trying to distract himself from the flashbacks that boiled up to the surface as soon as she had put the tourniquet on. "Not at all. I'm getting a little bit of everything. Another set of cultures to make sure the infection hasn't spread to your blood. I'm also getting some to check your organ function, your metabolics, white blood count, complete blood count... just a little of everything within reason." She explained and he nodded as he closed his eyes.

He didn't want to see what she was doing; she had palpated for a vein long enough. He knew she wasn't going to find one there if she hadn't found one already, but he clamped his mouth shut and decided to endure. He jumped when the cold alcohol wipe swirled over his skin. He tried to mentally prepare himself but it wasn't enough. He jumped the moment the needle entered his skin, but not enough to pull it out.

His eyes slipped shut once more and he frowned as he heard it... the all too familiar sound of the fingertip popping off of the glove. "I'm almost there, please bear with me." She said and he grimaced as he felt the needle move. He felt her hit something and anger began boiling up inside him. He wanted nothing more than to rip the needle from his arm and walk out at this point. He hated getting stuck more than anything. It wasn't the pain from it that bothered him, because he could endure that...

It was the fishing for a vein.

That was what he hated more than anything. He sighed in relief as he opened his eyes and saw she was getting blood in the tubes. It was a slow but steady flow and he was grateful it was working. He didn't move a muscle in case it disrupted the flow. "You can release your fist now." She called up to him and he looked down to see his tightly fisted hand was shaking ever so slightly. It wasn't that it scared him getting blood drawn, he just hated the way it made him feel.

All the pain and no reward. He cursed that thought the moment it had fluttered through his addict mind. He was doing good dammit. He didn't need to think like that. It was all the stress, that was what he was going to blame it on. The stress of everything, himself being injured, him having to practically revive Hinata, Kisame being injured as well... the fact he watched the life leave another man's eyes...

It was all too much for him and he wanted to run back to where he was comfortable. The land of addiction. It was an ever-fought war, he never had a moment free of these thoughts. He was just good at hiding them, as time went on he got better at hiding them away. However, he was fighting for his life every single day. He didn't know why on earth he had opened a bar in the first place, that's hell on any addict. If it wasn't one temptation it was another.

He had decent control around alcohol thankfully and didn't get absolutely shit faced like he knew he could. He could do anything he felt like to drown his sorrows at the end of a bottle, but his dumbass had chosen the needle as his vice. She finished up with his arm and he watched as she labeled the tubes and then turned to face him once more. "I'm afraid I have to stick you one more time, but on the other side. The cultures require blood from two different veins." She explained and he repressed the downturn of his lips as he slowly offered his hand to her.

She tied the tourniquet around his wrist and he watched as she felt for a vein in the back of his hand. She found one on the side of his wrist and a grimace made its way to his features. He hated that vein more than anything, it was his spare. He didn't feel like thinking about what that meant. He almost opened his mouth to tell her to be sure not to blow that vein, but that was the addict in him coming out and he wanted to keep that demon contained for as long as possible.

He closed his eyes and endured her sticking him once more. "You have a really good vein here, I wish I would have looked here first." She chirped happily. 'I know... that's why I didn't want you to.' He thought as he frowned. She was done soon after she started and she bandaged him up and made her way out of the room with her bull-shittery on wheels, cart. Ashura popped back into the room with Tsunade and he looked up at the women before him. Tsunade made her way over to him and sat on the edge of the bed. She placed a hand on his knee and frowned.

"How are you holding up?" she asked and he sent her a dirty look. "I hate getting stuck, not because it hurts either." He grumbled and she offered him a sad smile. The woman had seen him at his absolute worst and yet she still treated him with kindness. His features softened as he thought about how she had taken care of him without any judgement, despite the fact he had come in with a needle jutting out his arm and greasy unkempt hair.

"You look like you're doing better..." she said softly and he shrugged. He felt like he was going through withdrawals all over again, but at least he looked better than he did when he was going through them. The thought was bitter and he was glad he hadn't said it out loud. Perhaps the infection was making him obtuse. "I'm going to take a look at your back now." She said and he nodded, only for his gaze to linger on his fingers.

He shivered as her gloved hands roamed his back, pressing gently on the edges of his wounds. "I'm going to have to lance one of them and restitch it. Only one though thankfully. The rest are infected, but not as severely as the deep one on your back." She said and he frowned down at his hands. He heard Ashura getting things ready for her in the background. Tsunade began listing off things that Ashura would need to get for her and he raised a brow the moment she said a scalpel.

"No pain meds this time?" he asked and Tsunade leaned around to shake her head at him. "Can't, they won't work." She said and he grunted to signify he had heard her. After Ashura had grabbed everything for Tsunade, she came around in front of him and offered him her hands. "If you need me I'm here." She said reassuringly, to which he just stared at her in confusion. "That bad huh?" he grumbled and she nodded at him. His gaze landed on her small hands and he was tempted to grab them, but didn't.

He just wanted to feel her smooth skin against his unworthy palms. He grunted as soon as he felt the sharp blade cutting at his flesh. He tensed all of his muscles and tried his best to remain calm, but it was hard, especially since she was now applying pressure to the wound. He felt her wipe the wound, apply pressure and repeat. The pain was mirserable, but he held strong and didn't reach for the hands held out to him.

"Do you do this for everyone or just me?" he grunted with a pointed look towards Ashura. She smiled at him sadly and slipped her eyes shut. "Just you." She said softly and he frowned deeper as more pressure was applied to his wound and he winced once more. "I don't need pity." He grumbled in irritation, but the smile never once left her lips. "I know. That's why I'm offering comfort. Not pity." She said and he furrowed his brows at the strange woman.

After a moment he reached out with one hand and placed his fingertips atop her palm. He flattened his hand against hers and a warmth washed over him. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but it was euphoric to him and pulled him away from the pain he was suffering. Such a simple gesture had him in shambles in his mind. She laced her fingers with his and sat on the bed beside him. She cupped her other hand over the top of his and he couldn't honestly remember the time someone had touched him so gently, as if he were the most delicate being in the world.

It would honestly be insulting if he didn't appreciate the gesture. "You like me that much, do you?" he managed, and she rolled her eyes. "There he is. Don't start or I'll take my hands away." She mused and he clamped his mouth shut. He honestly didn't want her to remove her hands from his. Memories flooded his mind, and his shoulders slumped the slightest bit. The last memory of a gentle touch like this was from his own mother, right before she turned her back on him.

He knew that this was all just part of Ashura's job. She didn't truly care for him in the slightest. This was something she probably did for all her patients in pain, but he couldn't deny he enjoyed the affection even if it were false. No... he was wrong... the last gentle touch he had... was from Hinata. She had held his hand and even kissed him on the cheek. He had felt that in his semi-conscious state. Hinata was there for him as well.

He knew he had friends, but he could only let them get so close.

He didn't want them to see the depraved side of himself that he hid away. He looked down to their conjoined hand and noticed she was now rubbing her fingertips over the back of his hands. "You threw me to the wolves with the vampire you sent in. She was good, but not as good as you." He grumbled and Tsunade laughed out loud at this. "Now is not the time to flirt, Madara." Tsunade said and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious. I didn't feel a thing when Ashura stuck me. That girl went on a fishing trip." He growled and Tsunade laughed once again. "Give the girl a break, it's only her second day on her own. She's doing fine." Tsunade scolded and he rolled his eyes yet again. He had to admit though, for someone so fresh out of training she was indeed good at what she did. "Fair enough." He sighed, only for her to pat him on the shoulder.

"Lay on your side, Madara. I know you're a back sleeper, but the reason this got so infected was because of your favorite blanket." She said and held a chunk of luff out to him. How it had managed to get into his stitches was beyond him. Must have been because he tossed and turned all night long every night lately. "Ashura, a word?" Tsunade called as she trashed her gloves and washed her hands in the sink.

"Sure." Ashura said, only to pat his hand gently and release his hand completely. He knew what was coming, the beware of Madara speech. Everyone got it when they met him. He sighed as he waited for someone to come back in and tell him the verdict. He pulled his shirt on over his head and winced as he did so. He looked at the damnable sling and he just decided he was going to leave it there.

The same woman from before came in with discharge paperwork after about fifteen minutes. The usual fill this out, sign here, sign there bullshit. He stood and made his way over to the door, only to be met face to forehead with Ashura. She backed up a step and smiled at him softly. "You can walk this time; I can still escort you out if you would like?" she offered and he shook his head. "You don't have to do that." He said and she laughed lightly.

"Well, I insist." She said as she moved out of the way, only to hand him a prescription. He raised a brow but didn't question it. "For pain and the infection." She said and he nodded. Half of the walk was silent, with her just tossing glances up at him. "Something the matter?" he asked genuinely confused. "No... I'm just curious is all." She said with a smile, and he raised a brow yet again. "Curious about what, pray tell?" he asked, and she smirked at him once more.

"All I see are green flags but then again, my red flags look green at times too." She laughed lightly and he scoffed. "Everyone giving you the be wary of Madara speech? Typical." He grunted in irritation. "Not that I'm going to listen though." She said and he raised both brows as he looked over at her. "What can I say, I have bad taste in men." She said with a roll of the eyes. "Ah so am I involved in your taste of men?" he asked sincerely, and she smirked at him.

"We will just have to see about that."

This woman was going to drive him mad.

:-:-:-:

"Ashura, I need you to be careful." Tsunade said softly, not wanting to be heard by the man in the room behind them. "Why, he doesn't seem so bad." She said softly and Tsunade frowned. "He's not a bad guy. Just troubled. He might get you caught up in some things that you don't want to be caught up in." she couldn't get the conversation out of her head as she made her way back to her desk.

She sat down and as per usual, her blonde friend leaned around her computer to look at her slyly, Sakura leaning back in her chair to look at her as well. "Chummy like besties are we... you're already going on cute little walks." Sakura laughed lightly, only for Ashura to roll her eyes. "He doesn't seem so bad; he seems like a nice guy. Despite all the flirting." She grumbled as she leaned back in her own chair. She folded her arms behind her head and sighed deeply.

"He is a nice guy, you just gotta get to know him." Ino said and Ashura glanced over at her once more. "I would honestly like that." She said and the girls exchanged looks. "Do you drink?" they asked in unison, and she raised a brow. "Not really no." she said, and they both pouted. "I will with you guys though. I would like to see who all lingers at this bar you go to." She said curiously and the girls proclaimed their excitement softly to each other.

"We gotta wait for Madara to get better first, then we can go." Ino said and she nodded. She knew that Madara needed to get better. "So how did you and his younger brother meet?" she asked suddenly, and this seemed to catch the blonde off guard. "You want the good story or the bad story... wait... bad story isn't mine to tell. So good story it is." Ino said and leaned back in her chair. "Madara was in the hospital, and he came to thank me for taking care of his brother. He works in the coffee shop downstairs at night so we can go introduce you here in a minute when we go to get drinks. He brought me coffee that night and thanked me for everything." Ino started.

The blonde sighed and a dreamy look came over her face. "He was too damn cute not to sit and talk for a bit with. He was all flustered trying to flirt, absolutely adorable. Madara can flirt with he best of them, but Izuna had a little bit of trouble. I think that's what drew me to him, in all honestly. He was adorable stammering and trying to find his words." Ino sighed wistfully, this made Ashura and Sakura smile.

"What about you Sakura? How did you meet Sasuke?" she asked, and Sakura smirked. "We knew each other in academy days. Back in little old preschool. He was always my best friend, along with our friend Naruto. We grew up together and used to live in almost the same neighborhood. He was just a street over so we would always take off to go hang out with each other. Your older brother kept us in line half the time, even though we got on his nerves." Sakura said and Ashura furrowed her brow.

"You know my older brother?" she asked, and the two girls nodded at her. "He was our babysitter when he was just a young teen." Sakura said and Ashura's eyes fluttered shut. 'Fuck me.' "What didn't you know this?" she asked, and Ashura sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I knew he babysat for some kids a little bit younger than me, but I didn't know it was you and Sasuke." She sighed and the girls looked at her oddly.

"Why?" Sakura asked and she leaned in her seat swiftly. "We could have been friends so much sooner!" she exclaimed, and their eyes widened slightly. "You're right!" Sakura exclaimed and she waved her hands in the air softly. "Man, this sucks." She groaned and the other girls laughed at her misery. "What sucks?" a familiar voice asked as a bag of treats were set onto the counter in front of her. Her eyes went wide as she took in the sight of the candy.

"the fact we could have been friends sooner if you would have taken me with you on your babysitting gigs." She said and snatched the bag of cherry candies from him. "Oh I see. You guys are just sitting here chatting it up and I'm out here doing all the hard work." He mused with a crinkle of the eye. "But of course, with you on board we don't have as much work to do, you're good at what you do, dunce." She said as she popped a few of the candies in her mouth, only to then offer some to the other girls who held out their hands.

"Of course, squirt. I expected no less of you." He sighed with a hand in his silver hair. "You're just like dad." She sighed as she continued to throw the candy in her mouth. "And you're like mom." He chuckled and she smirked up at him. "Mom is a wonderful woman; you act like that's an insult." She said and he laughed outright. "It is, because you both have mental issues." He said and she had to admit that was actually pretty funny when she thought about it.

"Dad's pretty chill too." She said and he smiled at her and ruffled her bangs. "I'll take that as a compliment." He said and she smirked at him. "You shouldn't, pervert." She said with a mouth full of candy. She watched as he slipped his little orange book back in his thigh pocket. "You wound me so, little shit." He said with a hand over his heart. "I would believe it if I didn't know you." She said and he smirked.

"Yeah, you two are definitely siblings." Sakura mused and they both turned to look at her. "Why do you say that?" she asked as she threw more candy into her mouth, reaching to eat another but Kakashi snatched the bag and poured the last three into his mouth without a word. "Because Sasuke and Itachi are just like you guys. Always bullying one another." Sakura sighed and Ino nodded in agreement.

"Izuna and Madara too. You just can't stop sibling rivalry." Ino sighed with a hand fisted under her chin holding her head up. "Alright, I need coffee. Let's go get some." Ino sighed as she stretched and stood. She twisted around and Ashura heard her back pop. She stood and stretched as well. She was still mourning the loss of her candy as she trudged down the hallway after the other two women. They made their way to the elevator and stepped inside, chatting amicably amongst each other the entire way down to the cafeteria.

They stepped into the coffee shop and Izuna flung himself over the counter and wrapped his arms around Ino. "My love, you've come to see me!" he cheered, and Ashura smiled as she made her way over to the couple with Sakura in tow. "Hello!" he greeted, releasing Ino and turning towards her fully. "Ashura." She greeted and his brows shot up. "Oh! I've heard about you!" he said, and she grimaced.

"Good things I hope." She muttered and the two women looked at her oddly. "My brother tells me only the best things about you." He said and a slight blush crossed her cheeks. "Really?" she asked, and he nodded. "Yeah, he tells me stories about the beautiful nurse who takes care of him. Thank you by the way... my brother isn't the easiest to deal with, but you have obviously made an impact on him if he talks to me about you." He chuckled as she shook his hand.

"What does he say?" she asked, and he smirked. "What doesn't he say? He talks about your eyes mostly. I think he likes them; he can't get over the color." He said and she pursed her lips. "At least he isn't talking about my ass." She groaned and both women laughed at her misfortune. "He also chewed my ass about having to drive himself to the hospital today. He knew he would get fussed at by you, so he didn't mention it. It's funny really, he's never worried about anyone scolding him he just does what he wants." Izuna chuckled and Ino jabbed an elbow into his ribs.

"Stop talking Izuna." She growled, only to turn towards her and smile sweetly. Ashura didn't like the look she was getting from the blonde. "We don't wanna scare away our bestie now do we?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet as she twisted her heel into Izuna's foot every time he tried to speak. She looked over to Sakura for answers, only for Sakura to sigh and press her palm against her forehead.

"Let's just get coffee. I can't handle your antics right now."