Sakura finished her second year of medical school with high grades and a sense of satisfaction. The feeling lasted the entire walk out of her last exam, heading for the bus stop, when she found a dark vehicle with tinted windows parked on the street. She knew it was for her because the man in the crisp dark suit and shades outside of it immediately zoned in on her.
She ran a hand over her plain t-shirt and ripped jeans and sighed, wishing she had picked professional over comfort today. Nothing for it.
“Haruno Sakura, I was sent to pick you up,” the man said as she approached.
“And how do I know you were sent by friends?” she asked lightly.
The man merely flipped a phone open and hit dial, holding it out to her.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Ah, Sakura,” a familiar voice answered, “You have the good sense not to trust any man in suit at least. Hiro will bring you to my office for a quick meeting.”
“Yes sir,” she agreed for lack of anything else to do.
She handed the phone back and Hiro opened the passenger door for her. She flipped her phone open in the car and sent off a few quick text messages. Just in case she disappeared. Not that anyone could save her here, but well, she didn’t think she had anything to fear.
When they reached his office the secretary carefully didn’t look at her or the guard. The security guard at the elevator didn’t hesitate to punch in the floor and send them on their way up. Like the car ride, Hiro was silent at her side. He did a quick check for weapons before sending her through the office doors though.
This time only Hashirama was on the other side, sitting at his desk with a laptop and looking busy with stacks of paper around him.
“Aw, Sakura darling,” he smiled over the work at her, “How have you been?”
“Very well, thank you for asking sir.”
“And how was your second year of school?”
“Also good sir.”
“Excellent. You have finished all your exams for this year right?”
He knew the answer of course, considering he had had someone pick her up just as she finished her last one.
“Yes sir.”
“Good, good, now, you have some time free right? A break between semesters?”
“Yes sir.”
“Anything lined up?”
Sakura was quite sure he knew the answer to that as well.
“No sir.”
“I have a job for you then.”
Sakura considered him and his easy tone and his friendly smile. There was no refusing this of course. This wasn’t a question or an offer, it was a demand.
“Of course sir,” she said dryly, “What do you need me for?”
“I need a personal assistant for a few weeks. My usual is on maternity leave.”
Sakura breathed once, trying to calm herself. Personal assistant was…that was a dangerous thing to be for a man like Hashirama.
“I don’t know if I’m qualified for that,” she said.
“Nonsense. You’re a smart young woman. And you’ve been working at the hospital part time in the filing room haven’t you? A hospital is a busy place with confidentiality issues, so you already have practice. You’ve also had experience working as a secretary in high school I see. The Yamanaka firm hired you to run the front desk for a few years didn’t they,” he smiled.
Sakura nodded sharply. Her parents hadn’t known about that job and Sakura had used to to save up a tidy nest egg. Not enough to escape their grasp and pay for medical school, but it had funded a few of her other … hobbies.
“Good,” he nodded, “I’m sure you’ll catch on quick enough.”
“And you trust me enough for this?” she asked carefully.
“Considering I know how far you will go to become a doctor,” he smiled, “and how easily I could take that away? Yes, I trust you’re a smart enough girl.”
She gave a sharp nod to acknowledge the threat.
“Good, Kagome will give you a run down,” he waved a dismissive hand.
So Sakura stepped out of his office and turned to his guards.
“Where can I find Kagome?”
They pointed her off in a direction and when she found the woman, she found an elderly woman with sharp eyes and a sharp smile and no tolerance for idiocy. She seemed to like how quick of a learner Sakura was though as she got a quick run-down on calendars, appointments, and all the important contacts and aspects of running a crime lords life. Then she took her down to the basement level, to a cold stone room, and showed Sakura how to clean a gun, how to roll a cigarette, how to pour a variety of alcohols while subtly looking for tampering.
Sakura left long after dark, with a notebook tucked in her purse and a taxi waiting to take her home.
.--.
“Got a gift for you!” Naruto grinned.
Sakura took the small switchblade and spun it neatly in her hand.
“Thanks,” she said, “You got any plans this summer?”
“I’m going to do some odd jobs,” he shrugged, “Kiba’s family needs some help with the dogs while his sister’s out doing her internship. Iruka needs some help grading summer school work. And I think Jiraya wanted me to go on a trip with him.”
“Keeping busy then,” she smiled, “How did your classes go?”
He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
“I passed.”
“Not by much?” she smirked.
“I passed,” he said stubbornly.
“As long as you pass,” she agreed.
She tossed the switchblade up and let it spin through the air before catching it neatly.
“Oh, and Kakashi sent this,” he said holding out a small box.
Sakura took it, peeked under the lid, and then tucked it in her purse with a smile. No point in saying anything about the sleek little pistol out loud.
“Tell him thank you.”
“You could do it yourself,” he said, trying for casual.
“Not right now,” she shook her head.
He gave her a concerned look, but said nothing knowing Sakura was both stubborn and capable of knowing her limits.
“Thanks for the visit Naruto,” she said glancing at the time, “But I need to head out.”
She left enough cash to cover her bowl of ramen, as well as Naruto’s first few and gave the chef a quick wave.
“Hey,” Naruto called, “Be careful, okay?”
“Yeah. I will,” she smiled.
.--.
Sakura threw herself into being a personal assistant. Since she was doing it for Hashirama it was often straight forward organizational skills. She didn’t have to field too many calls or requests because she was the last step before talking to the man himself; this meant there was a variety of other people to get through and she didn’t have to worry about tricky things like vetting people.
Hashirama ran a crime empire, but it was all hidden behind legit businesses. He had many fronts and as such, many things to do. Sakura simply followed him, taking notes, reminding him about appointments, giving him a variety of information before meetings, etc. For a woman of her organization and intelligence is wasn’t all that hard. Simply time consuming.
The only complaint she had was the hours to be honest.
She seemed to fall asleep on the really comfy chair down on floor sixteen near an employee break room more often than not. It saved her the hassle of a trip home late and there was a small bathroom to freshen up in. She’d even commandeered a cupboard in an office for some simple supplies like brushes and a set of clothes.
Sakura gave little opinion of her job. She kept her reactions locked down even when emotions ran high. She played the passive secretary and rarely dug deeper than the surface. No point in getting too deep.
.--.
Sakura knocked a drink back and sighed sadly.
“Another?” the bartender asked.
“Another,” she agreed.
A body slid into the chair beside her and she caught a flash of white hair and red eyes. Instantly her posture snapped straight and her mouth turned into a polite blank smile.
“Good evening sir. Can I help you?” she asked calmly.
Tobirama looked her over carefully.
“At ease,” he finally said, “You are off shift.”
“One is never off shift when they run into their boss in public,” she smiled prettily.
The bartender slid her a shot and Sakura eyed it mournfully but kept her attention on Tobirama.
“Have your drink, Haruno,” he said.
Sakura looked at him for a long moment, then took her shot.
“Bring us a bottle,” Tobirama told the bar tender.
She nodded and set a shot glass in front of him, filling both of theirs before placing the bottle at his elbow.
“Drink up,” Tobirama said, eyes flashing in the dim light.
Sakura tried to pick out all the guards in the room, but unlike Hashirama, Tobirama walked around more discreetly and the disguised men were hard to pick out.
“The pool shark,” she finally decided.
Tobirama glanced at her, mouth ticking upwards.
“And the bartender,” she said.
He smirked.
“And the woman with the gun pointed at my spine,” she sneered, casting a glance over at the red head looking drunk in the corner, “How did you hire Uzumaki Karin?”
Now his lips twisted in surprise. Karin raised her head to give Sakura a two finger salute before going back to a fake drunken lull, gun hidden under the table.
“You know Uzumaki Karin?”
“Unfortunately,” Sakura sneered.
“Hmm. Drink up.”
Sakura did so. She had never been a fool despite how much of one her father had wanted her to be. He had wanted a pretty dutiful daughter that could be married off for connections and so he had made sure she had all the lessons a young lady did. Calligraphy, flower arrangement, etiquette, tea ceremony. Sakura had been forced to waste hours on them. The rest of her time had been devoted to her schooling and to her hobbies.
She had used it all as an excuse to rarely be at home. Her parents were away often enough not to notice when she didn’t spend the night. And sometimes they weren’t home often enough to notice her digging through the files and the business.
“Drink,” Tobimara repeated, refilling her shot glass.
Sakura’s former husband had seen a dutiful wife who kept her head down and as such, had ignored her outside the marriage bed. He had been away just as often as her parents had been and she had taken to digging into his business as well. It was how she had caught him in the middle of his idiotic planning. It was what allowed her to get rid of him.
Sakura was no fool.
And so she did not fight Tobimara as he refilled her glass the fifth time and ordered her to drink. But the seventh time:
“No, I think I’m done,” she announced.
“Are you disobeying my command?”
“One must know their limits,” she said.
He smiled and then slammed her hand onto the bar, his other hand grasping her by the back of her neck.
“You guessed correctly on my men,” he said calmly despite Sakura tensing beneath him, her lips curling in a snarl, “But while the rest aren’t my men, they will turn a blind eye. Now, take the fucking drink.”
He folded her pinned hand around the shot glass. Sakura licked her lips. She took the shot. He refilled it an eighth time and Sakura swayed in her seat. She’d drank too much before this as well. The world was twisting and tilting and she stared at the eighth drink, sure that if she opened her mouth she’d hurl. She reached for the shot glass, her lips curling in a snarl.
Goddamn entitled men.
She grabbed the full bottle and pitched it across the room. The sound of shattering glass halted the action of everyone in the room.
“Oops,” Sakura said, entirely unapologetic sounding.
Tobirama narrowed his eyes and waved the bartender down. The woman set another bottle before them. Sakura picked it up and simply dropped it to shatter on the floor. She raised a brow at Tobirama and he narrowed his eyes at her. The pool shark had set the cue aside and was standing closer, hands tense. Uzumaki Karin had her gun visible as she leveled it at Sakura. The bartender had another bottle in hand.
“Stand up,” Tobirama said.
Sakura did so, the world tilting. He slid from his seat and eyed her. She kept herself deceptively loose and waited, watching his torso.
When the punch came, Sakura was ready. She ducked back, foot sliding through the alcohol and glass to brace her as she dodged the second blow. She brought an arm up to know the third blow aside and then threw her own punch. She caught him across the face and got one good look at his surprised face. And then his foot found her stomach.
Sakura really did throw up then, and the second blow caught her in the side of the head, splitting her lip as she wretched. She clattered to the ground and despite her disorientation she rolled out of the way. She came up roaring with fury and her foot found his knee even as her fist went for his gut. He rolled out of the way of her fist and she slammed her knuckles into the wall. The drywall gave beneath her fist and she pulled her now bloody fist out of the wall, snarling.
He had retreated a good distance and was staring at the new hole in the wall. He looked back at her and this time she could see he was taking her serious.
When the pool shark tried to grab her from behind, going for her hair, Sakura grabbed a mug off the table and shattered it against the side of the man’s face. A bottle came for her face and Sakura ducked, rolling. She came up hooking a hand around a bar chair and tossed it at the bar tender. The woman dodged, throwing herself to the ground as the chair shattered the shelves and bottles behind her.
Sakura reached behind her, into the hidden pocket at the back of her waistband. The switchblade sprung free with a click and Sakura threw it in a perfect arch to pin Karin’s shirt to the wall behind her. Sakura made eye contact with Karin and the woman sneered but did not pull the trigger. Instead she put the safety on, pushed her glasses up, reached up to yank the warning toss out of her shirt and the wall.
Sakura turned back to Tobirama who was watching her carefully.
“Stand down,” he finally ordered.
Sakura spit out bile at his feet and sneered. He sneered back but she watched as everyone else back off slowly, the patron’s pretending desperately none of that had happened. One brave soul offered her a tissue pack and Sakura wiped her mouth with one.
“Let’s go,” Tobirama ordered.
“I’m off the clock,” Sakura spat.
“You’re never off the clock with us. Let’s go.”
He picked up her purse from her former seat and Sakura snarled as he waved it tauntingly as he walked out the door. She had some cash in her pocket but not enough to get home and back to work tomorrow. Besides, her keys were in her purse.
Sakura followed.
A tinted car awaited and Sakura slid in the passenger seat as Tobirama slid in the driver’s side. He tossed her purse onto her lap and turned the car on. She carefully clicked the seatbelt in place feeling a little less sure now that the adrenaline was fading away. He peeled out onto the road.
“The background check says you were trained in Kyokushin Karate,” he said without preamble as he pulled into traffic, “A black belt.”
“Yeah,” Sakura said, dabbing at her split lip.
“And you attend the gym regularly still.”
“Is there a point to this?”
“My brother is attending a meeting out of town next week. There will be security of course but you are his last line of defense.”
“Lovely,” Sakura snarled, “And you couldn’t invite me to the gym to test this?”
“Better when you are unprepared and at a disadvantage.”
She snorted and kept a tissue pressed to her lip, wavering as the world rushed by outside the window, all neon and light in the darkness of the night. They finally pulled up to a beautiful tall apartment and into underground parking. She followed him cautiously as he led her to an elevator, his key card unlocking the door. The ride up to the top floor was done in silence.
It was a lovely condo, all tall windows and modern furniture. There was one room off to the side set up with traditional tatami mats and set up like a dojo and she knew she would be seeing the inside of it.
She wasn’t wrong. He let her use the washroom to wash the taste of vomit out of her mouth and chug some water. Then he tossed a pair of shorts at her. She pulled them on, tossing her dress pants to the side as she kicked off her shoes. She shed her blouse, the sports bra underneath not very professional, but Sakura had always been a practical girl.
Tobirama meanwhile had also striped of his suit and slid into sweats and a t-shirt. He shut them in the dojo and did a stretch or two as she rolled her shoulders.
Throwing up and then sitting in the car quiet had helped, but she could not deny she was still under the influence. He had said disadvantaged she supposed.
“Now,” he said as he saw her look up, “Show me what you got.”
Sakura wasn’t a fourth degree black belt for no reason. She had earned her belts and her dans. Unfortunately, Sakura was indeed at a disadvantage with alcohol thrumming in her veins and multiple exhausting days behind her. She had thrown up a good deal of the alcohol but also some of her dinner.
And Tobirama was no slouch, many more years of fighting under his belt.
What she was trying to get through was that he beat her soundly. Sakura dodged a great deal, got a hit or two in of her own, and received a thrashing.
When one hit finally slipped through and hit her square in the nose, creating a spray of blood, he finally let her fall and stay fallen.
Sakura choked on a cough, eyes watering with the pain as the blood dripped down her throat and her face. Tobirama fetched her a towel and she wadded it up to her face with an icepack above it.
He washed his hands as she sat there swallowing her own blood.
“Let me see it,” he demanded after a while.
“Fuck you,” Sakura said, “It’s not broken.”
She pulled the towel away to find the bleeding had indeed stopped. It was tender and might have some bruising tomorrow but seemed fine for now. She wiped away some dried blood and scowled openly at Tobirama. He hauled her to her feet and led her to the kitchen where he put a glass of water in her hand and handed her a wet cloth to wipe at her face with.
Despite her own diagnosis he leaned over, hand on her chin holding it in place as he looked at her sore nose and the split lip he had reopened.
“You are decent at self-defence at least,” he said as he looked at her.
She shot him a scowl.
“Do you still feel drunk?” he asked.
The water, the adrenaline, and the time had helped and despite the fact she could be considered tipsy still, she was in no way drunk. She gave a twitch of her head.
“Good,” he declared.
His hand slid from her chin back around her neck to cradle her head as he leaned over and kissed her. He was very careful not to bump their noses and Sakura made a small growling noise into his mouth. He crowded her up against the island in his kitchen and boxed her in, one hand tangled in her hair cradling her skull and the other grasping her hip to pull her closer as he slipped in-between her legs.
“Your brother-,” she hissed as she pulled back.
“Doesn’t care,” Tobirama said simply, “Are you saying no?”
She considered it for a moment. And then decided she was going to make him beg in retaliation for that beat down. She was going to pull him apart. She leaned up and kissed him again and it was not gentle. He yanked on her hair, tugging her head back and attacked her neck, kissing his way down as the hand on her hip reached up and shoved her sports bra up to her collar, baring her breasts. His hand found her breasts and she released a hiss of breath as he yanked her hair again, making her lean her head back and arching her chest further up.
The fumbled their way to the bedroom, his hands never leaving her long as she tugged at his shirt and drawstrings. The crashed into the bed, wrestling more than withering. She was on top long enough to toss her sports bra and then he pinned her as she was kicking off her shorts and yanking at his sweats.
It was a mess of passion and anger and pure blissful pleasure. Sakura moaned and whimpered and snarled, fighting him every step of the way, fighting to be on top and in charge. He barely gave, giving as good as he got and they arched and rocked against one another, his cock hot and hard as he pounded into her.
She clawed at his shoulders, legs locked around his hips, and she had not time for words as she growled low and deep in his ear, scraping her teeth against his skin.
It was mind-blowingly good and Sakura felt satisfied when he pulled out gasping.
The next morning she used his shower, cleaned the sex and violence away and then let him give her a ride to her house for a new change of clothes and a light layer of makeup to hide any bruising. When they walked into Hashirama’s office he seemed to know anyways. He waved Sakura over and then tilted her face with a sharp grasp on her chin.
“Did you break her nose,” the older man narrowed his eyes, inspecting Sakura’s face.
“No,” the both said in tandem.
“He merely sucker punched me,” Sakura said.
“After making her drink,” Hashirama said giving his brother a pointed look.
Tobirama looked entirely unrepentant even as Sakura tried to remember who might have been Hashirama’s plant that night
“You will apologize,” Hashirama said simply.
“Sorry,” Tobirama echoed looking bored.
Hashirama sighed.
“Please don’t take it personally, Sakura, he was born emotionally stunted. Now, if he tries any of this nonsense again you have my permission to kick him in the dick.”
“That’s okay sir, I think I will pass on that. I quite like his dick.”
She smirked as she broke both their facades and watched both men choke on their surprise.
.--.