Written for MadaSaku Week 0320.

Prompt: Mafia/Yakuza AU, other prompts will be used in following chapters

The story was inspired by a wonderful fanart for this prompt by kizioziki on tumblr. Go check out their amazing MadaSaku art!

How to Help a Stray

The Stray - Part I

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It was late evening and Sakura only stepped out of her apartment for a quick grocery run after she'd realized her fridge was empty. She was so preoccupied with studying for her exams that she didn't notice her dwindling supplies.

Normally, she wouldn't go out at that hour, it could be dangerous for young women and there were street gangs roaming around the city. But if she wanted life safe and easy, she wouldn't have moved out of the mansion. She wouldn't have pursued medical studies at Konoha Medical Academy.

So far, Sakura was lucky, her karate classes didn't pay off as much as her running track in high school and the investment in pepper spray, but almost every other day she heard of those less fortunate getting mugged or worse. She knew the danger of living in this part of the city, but she couldn't afford a place in a safer district and she vehemently refused to accept more of her family's blood money. Ever since she'd learned at a young age what it was exactly her father was doing, why there were armed men around the mansion, she wanted nothing to do with it.

She'd been a curious child, all alone in a big house without a playmate, so of course she'd gone to places that had been forbidden to her and seen more than she should have. She would never forget what happened to the gardener. As a child she'd had nightmares about that for weeks. Or about those men cutting off their own little fingers and giving them to her father to show their loyalty. Loyalty, what loyalty? That was simple barbarism.

Sakura was grateful she wasn't a man and there was no expectation for her to take over the yakuza as the heir. The successor would be one of the lieutenants. As far as she was concerned, her father's whole life's work, the organization could burn to the ground. She was happy to stay away and become a doctor, do something that would actually help many people. Save lives, not take them. That was her dream.

And that's how she ended up living in a crappy little apartment in a crime-infested district of Konoha, subsisting on cup ramen and studying like her life depended on it. Because in a way it did.

However, she wasn't completely free of her father. He was keeping tabs on her and recently more and more often he insisted on assigning to her a personal bodyguard. Sakura abhorred the idea and categorically refused, sending back any of his men that came to her doorstep. She'd rather take her chances with the street gangs than allow one of his goons to follow her around.

After Sakura left the store, the quickest but also the riskiest route back to her place was through the park which was also the main hangout of the local gang. She cut through it speedily, shooting wary glances around and especially behind herself. A few times she'd already had to run from creeps in this park, but her bags would slow her down if there was a repeat incident tonight.

She was almost out of the park without running into anyone when she noticed the group of the rough types crowding around a lone figure at the deserted playground. Common sense dictated to steer away from the obvious trouble but she couldn't just ignore someone who was in real danger and needed help. Instead, she cautiously approached, sticking to the shadows and pulling out her cellphone. In the worst case she would threaten to call the police.

"Who the hell do you think you are, you dumb shit! That you can stink up our benches?! This is our territory!" a gang member yelled.

The threatened man appeared unaffected as he surveyed the gang with an air of disdain and boredom, arms crossed in front of his chest. He had long, wild black hair and wore a stained hoodie, old jeans and beaten-up sneakers.

"Really, it's yours? I didn't see a sign anywhere," he replied sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure it's a public park and I can be here if I want."

The thug growled. "Get the fuck out of our park, you damn dirty hobo!"

"And if I don't?" the man challenged.

"Then I'll make you pay!"

"Oh, so you want to dance?" the man asked with an eager look as he uncrossed his arms and took a ready stance. Sakura recognized it. This man definitely knew martial arts! "Then let's dance," he said with a smirk.

"Dance? Did you hear that, guys? This idiot wants to dance!" The thug chuckled. "What a clown! I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"

"You're welcome to try," the man goaded.

His opponent raised his arms, the brass knuckles reflected light from the streetlamp. "You think you're such a tough guy, eh? Take this!" He swung his arm.

What happened next was one of the most beautiful counters Sakura had ever seen. The wild-haired man's body moved with such smoothness and precision as he leaned away and skewered the charging opponent on his fist. He followed up with a brutal downward smash and the thug crumbled onto the ground, instantly KO'd. The man kicked him away for good measure.

"Not so tough after all. I'm disappointed in that weakling. What about the rest of you, anyone who can dance or are you all just trash?" he asked, looking calculatingly at the rest of the gang.

With a roar, the enraged punks attacked him en masse to avenge their fallen boss. Sakura forgot all about her plan to call for help as she watched entranced as the man singlehandedly dismantled the entire gang. It was a one-sided massacre that took her breath away. The man was like a death machine, fast as a wind, his moves lethal in their beauty as he rained pure destruction on the thugs.

By the end of it, he was the last one standing amid the fallen bodies, the sole winner on the battlefield, looking down on those he so utterly defeated.

"I won, so I guess this park is now mine, right?" he mused.

Then he noticed a spot of red spreading on his thigh where one of the thugs managed to get in a lucky shot with his knife. "Shit," the man cursed to himself, grabbing at his leg. He swiped a backpack off the ground and limped away.

Sakura snapped out of her trance and ran after him. "Wait!" she gasped. "You're injured!"

"Who are you?" He gave her a distrustful look.

"Does it matter? I want to help!" she replied and took off her belt. "Here, we need to stop the bleeding," she said and tied it around his thigh higher than the wound. She tore open a pack of tissues and pressed them all to the injury. Then she took his hand and put it there. "Just apply pressure and hang tight. I'll call the ambulance."

"No!" the man objected, drawing back from her. "No damn hospital."

"It's not a time for your manly pride to get in the way! You can bleed out!" she snapped at him.

"I've had worse. I am not going to the hospital," he said stubbornly. "If you call them, I'll just leave."

Sakura thought it over furiously. "Alright, is there someone I can call to come get you? Family, friends?"

"No," he replied, looking away. "No one." His tone was softer and distant, carrying the underlying sadness. Sakura then understood that this man was completely alone.

Sakura's look softened in compassion. "Where do you live? I can help you get home," she offered.

"I don't have one."

"What? But… Are you serious?" she asked, taken aback.

"No, I'm joking," he said sarcastically. "What did you think I was doing here? Picking fights for fun? I was trying to get some sleep when those morons came."

Then those weren't just insults the gang's boss had hurled at him. He was actually homeless. Sakura reevaluated him with new eyes. Come to think of it, it made sense now that his clothing looked so worn out and dirty. Biting her lip, she considered her options.

She released a sigh. "Alright then," she said, making her decision. "You're coming with me."

"Where?" he asked.

"To my place. Don't worry, it's very close." She grabbed her bags. She couldn't afford losing her food supplies now that she'd have a guest. "Come on, lean on me. You need to take your weight off that leg as much as possible." She looked at him expectantly.

The man didn't move. His forehead crinkled as he looked at her. "Why are you doing this? You don't even know me. I could be a serial killer."

"Are you?" Sakura asked pointedly.

"No."

"There, you have it. To answer your question, I don't need to know your name to know you're a decent sort. I saw what happened here. Nice job taking down those idiots, by the way." She snorted. "If you really need a reason, you can look at this as my thanks for you dealing with them. They're the worst nuisances in the neighbourhood," she explained. "Does that satisfy you?"

He nodded hesitantly and she beamed at him.

"Great! Now come on, we should take care of your wound as fast as possible. I have a first aid kit at home, so I can patch you up. I'm a med student, you know? Treating people is what I'm going to do for a living, you can be a good practice." She told him and they walked out of the park.

"Madara," he said suddenly.

"Huh?" she made a surprised noise.

"My name is Madara."

She smiled, excited that he shared something personal. Madara. It was a nice name. It suited him, enigmatic but powerful sounding. "I'm Sakura," she replied. "It's nice to meet you, Madara."

He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound coming from his chest and causing a pleasant shiver to go through her. "I should have guessed," he said. "You have pink hair."

Sakura smiled wryly. "Yeah, I guess my parents didn't have much imagination when they named me."

"Better no imagination than too much. This name fits you like a glove, so why make up something else?" he replied philosophically.

Sakura glanced at his profile in surprise. His jaw was so sharp he could cut glass with it. "You might be right," she said.

Finally, they reached her apartment and she fished out her keys from the pocket. She let Madara in and locked the door. "Home, sweet home," she said, putting groceries in the tiny kitchen. "Sit down," she told her guest, gesturing to the decrepit couch. It was left by the previous tenant and for a good reason. The piece of crap that had the gall to call itself furniture was ancient, creaky, smelly and the springs were poking out of it. The only reason it was still taking up space in her apartment was because Sakura didn't have time and energy to get rid of it.

She quickly got out the first aid kit and crouched at Madara's side. "Take off your pants," she ordered in her doctor voice.

He stared at her in silence and she sighed. "I need to see the wound so I can treat it. Now take them off," she explained.

Madara reluctantly unbuttoned his jeans. Sakura untied her belt from his thigh and helped him gently slide the pantlegs off. She ignored his dark underwear and focused solely on the cut in his thigh. First, she cleaned it, then put in the stitches. Madara grimaced but didn't interrupt while she worked.

"All done," she announced cheerfully as she tied off the suture and cut it.

"Thanks." Madara made to get up, but she grabbed his knee.

"Where are you going?" she asked in confusion.

"I'm leaving."

"Absolutely not! You can't move too much, you lost enough blood," she shot his moronic idea down. "I can put you up for the night."

Madara searched her face, then glanced at her hand, still on his knee, then back at her. Sakura took her hand off him with a blush.

"Very well," he acquiesced softly.

She scrambled up from her knees. "Good, you should take a quick shower too, to clean off the bacteria," she told him and went to get him a towel. She tactfully didn't mention that he smelled rather ripe, which she'd been made all too aware of when she'd assisted him in hobbling to her apartment.

Madara disappeared off into her tiny bathroom and finally she had some room to think. This was spiraling out of control, she didn't actually mean to make him stay! But he didn't have anywhere to go and he was injured, so it was a logical thing to do, her other side argued. Her decision was completely rational. It had nothing to do with his defined jaw, strong thighs and the outline of a bulge in his boxers she'd seen out of the corner of her eye.

Flustered, Sakura clapped her cheeks and went to work. First, she needed to figure out where he'd sleep. The couch was out of the question, he would've had more luck catching z's on a park bench. Sakura rolled out her only futon, debating whether she should give it up to her guest and brave the couch herself when Madara came out of the bathroom.

Sakura's jaw dropped as she looked at his body. He was wearing only a towel wrapped around his hips and belatedly she remembered she hadn't given him a change of clothes. The reason was that she had nothing that would fit a tall, muscular man like him. He was sparkling clean and gleaming after the shower. Her wide eyes took in the robust chest and thick arms, skin littered with scars. This man was a warrior that survived through many scraps. She gulped, feeling unbearably hot.

"I have nothing to wear," Madara said, bringing her attention back to the problem at hand.

"I'll find you something!" she blurted out and rummaged through her closet. She pulled out a pink bathrobe. It was a little threadbare and too big on her, but it was the only thing that had any hope to fit his bulky frame.

Madara took it without comment. Sakura turned away when he changed. She heard the towel dropping softly on the floor and the thought that he was stark naked behind her back caused the liquid heat to flow into her veins.

Madara looked more modest in her bathrobe, though it still showed a lot more leg and chest than should be allowed.

"I'll do your laundry tomorrow," she said apologetically. There was little choice, she didn't own a laundry machine and she only went to laundromat.

Madara nodded then surveyed the room, then went to the couch.

"No, you won't be able to sleep there!" Sakura protested.

"I'll manage," he replied. "If I slept on concrete and park benches, I can deal with your couch."

Sakura wasn't so convinced but she didn't argue. She just gave him a pillow and a blanket. After she took her own shower and changed into her pajamas, she softly told him goodnight to which he didn't reply, and slipped into her futon.

What a crazy day, she thought wonderingly before sleep claimed her.

to be continued...

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AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Please share your thoughts in a review, I will be very grateful! XD