moor

Prompt: Fake Dating

Rating: T, maybe M later
Squicks: Misunderstandings, loss of family, misunderstood intimacy
A/N: The prompt comes into play! :)

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five

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The music world reeled when SendUchiha announced their amicable separation. With the Uchiha split from the Senju, both families founded new bands.

“Send You”, with Hashirama as lead guitarist and vocals, Tobirama as bass and drums. After a series of auditions, they collected several more members, including Mito Uzumaki, another vocalist and keyboardist, and guitar-bassists Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzou. They turned their focus to rock and guitar music.

Their inaugural album was very well received, especially when Madara and Sakura-chan promoted them in their own interviews. Sakura-chan even had a cameo in their first music video.

#

For their part, the Uchiha looked inward and recruited family members for their dance-pop debut. Madara, Izuna, Obito, and Kagami Uchiha founded the renowned First Generation of “You Cheat”. Their popularity soared.

“And who is looking after Sakura-chan?” challenged Tobirama when Hashirama announced the Uchihas’ tour over breakfast one morning.

“Tsunade is her manager. She won’t let anything happen to Sakura-chan,” assured Hashirama as he seared their eggs. “Madara also arranged extra help for Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura-chan, to ensure they’re cared for when he travels.”

Tobirama’s brows drew together and he glared at his toast.

#

Sakura’s career also took off, as popular media came to call her, “Sakura-chan”. Movies, TV show cameos, her own album, her own tour, her own awards for music, television, film. She accompanied the Uchihas to their music and choreography practices often enough to learn their moves and songs, and occasionally popped up in their videos, to public delight. Madara relied heavily on Tsunade for her guidance in matters relating to the management of Sakura’s career, and Tsunade never failed.

The friendly rivalry between the Uchiha and Senju bands rolled on but soured distinctly following an awards show after party.

#

Sasuke glared at Sakura and she flipped him off.

“Put that out before Madara catches you,” snapped Sasuke, grabbing at Sakura’s cigarette.

“I do what I want,” insisted Sakura, now 16, dancing out of Sasuke’s reach. She took a deep drag on her current poison of choice and blew it in his face. “See?”

“You think you’re such a renegade, smoking?” he taunted her as they hid from the crowds on the Senju’s hotel penthouse balcony. Hashirama had invited the Uchihas over after their latest concert to relax. Which was exactly what Sakura was doing. Relaxing.

“Jealous?”

Sasuke shoved her.

#

Sakura’s scream rent the air.

Madara and Izuna tore off in a flash, Hashirama right on their heels. Unfortunately, the balcony wrapped around the entire penthouse, and was multi-level.

“Where’s her bodyguard?” asked Hashirama.

“She was with Sasuke—” said Izuna.

Madara cursed under his breath. Without Itachi nearby to curb Sasuke’s sharp tongue, Sasuke tended to snipe at Sakura and she gave as good as she got. Those two pressed each other’s buttons relentlessly.

“Hold on!”

The trio paused as they heard Tobirama’s voice. “Hold on, I’ve got you!”

Madara gasped as they found Sakura dangling from Tobirama’s grip.

#

“You jerk!” screamed Sakura once Tobirama had her safely on her feet again. He grabbed her around the waist when she launched herself at her brother.

Sasuke’s face and neck burned as he looked away, swallowing hard, his lips a pale, thin line.

“Easy, Sakura-chan,” said Tobirama. “Are you hurt? Did you hit anything—”

“I’m about to hit something, right into next week!”

“Sakura-chan!”

“FUCK, my name is Sakura, not Sakura-chan!” shrieked Sakura, fighting Tobirama’s grip. “I’m not a kid!”

“You’re a minor until your age of majority, so yes, you are,” countered Madara, hard eyes set.

#

“You fought because she was smoking again?” asked Madara tightly.

Izuna, Hashirama and Tobirama waited on the periphery as Madara chewed out Sasuke and Sakura and the near-fatal shenanigans.

“It’s gross, and unhealthy!”

“It’s my life!”

“Stop it, both of you!” roared Madara, gripping both their shoulders. “You could have killed your sister tonight, Sasuke!”

“She was already doing it—and she’s not my real sister, anyway!”

In the middle of rearing back to kick Sasuke, Sakura paused, her face shadowed.

“Sasuke,” snapped Izuna, stepping forward, but Sakura shoved them all away.

“I hate you all!”

“Sakura,” begged Hashirama.

#

“Stay out of this, Hashirama,” growled Madara, glancing at his friend.

But Hashirama pushed forward, ignoring Madara.

“Sakura-ch… Sakura, please, listen to me. You’re understandably upset and angry,” said Hashirama, only for Madara to get in his face.

“I said, stay out of this,” snarled Madara.

“She’s hurting! She needs a break!” insisted Hashirama, Tobirama at his side.

“That’s between us and Tsunade, it’s none of your business,” interrupted Izuna, taking up place beside Madara.

The tension mounted, and Sakura found herself between them both, her anger overwhelmed by theirs.

“None of you are listening!” she screamed.

—A flash...

#

The photo was on the front page of every magazine, trash and entertainment website, every newscast for the next two days. Hashirama and Madara glaring at each other toe-to-toe, their younger brothers at their sides, Sakura between them all.

In Tsunade’s office, Sakura slumped sullenly on the couch as Madara slouched, his arms crossed and expression stiff.

“We can’t let the rumours fly much longer. How do you want to play it?” asked Tsunade.

On the opposite couch, Hashirama leaned forward, his fingers folded together. Beside him, his agent, Kakashi, lifted a gloved hand.

“I have an idea.”

Love Triangle Turns Violent!

“In a stunning revelation, everyone’s favourite household name, Sakura-chan, is revealed to be involved in a seedy love triangle with none other than her childhood friend, Hashirama Senju, and his best friend and her former guardian, Madara Uchiha. The men, each 11 years older than Sakura-chan, have released statements indicating that the photo is the result of a private matter. Our investigative team reveal that their love-affair reached a boiling point over the weekend after the Senju concert, where each relationship was revealed to the other.

“Was Sakura-chan manipulated, or the manipulator?…”

“Remember that you were the one who didn’t want to be seen as a kid anymore,” said Tsunade to Sakura as their limo approached the recording studio.

“I know.”

“You better have kicked that disgusting habit.”

Her expression bitter before evening out, Sakura nodded.

“We’ll manage this as best we can, but be prepared to duck the occasional egg.”

Taking a deep, slow breath and holding it deep in her chest, Sakura closed her eyes and nodded. Her skirt had never been shorter, her eye makeup never so dark. Her career metamorphosis was officially underway.

…From “Sakura-chan” to “Sakura”.

#

Izuna glowered at his phone before flipping to another site.

“Relax. It’s a publicity stunt,” said Madara, making bacon at the stove in their kitchen.

“Why does Hashirama end up looking like the golden boy, while you end up looking like a groomer?”

“It’s not the truth, it’s the angle the paps were already taking to spin the fight.” Madara stirred the tomatoes in another skillet. “We’re lucky no one recorded what really happened. There could have been charges.”

Silent at the table, Sasuke frowned, but held his tongue when Itachi patted his back. Sakura still had not forgiven him.

#

The public gorged itself on the ‘revelation’.

The drama. The age gaps. The salacious hints and sordid ‘details’ ‘leaked’ by individuals ‘close to the sources’. Added to Sakura’s transformation in front of the audience that watched her grow up on screen, the provocative poses and suggestive lyrics to her new albums, the transition from honest, wholesome little girl to confident, mature, young adult propelled her to super stardom. Her first tour as ‘Sakura’ outsold all other bands the year she turned seventeen.

The publicity photos, staged, between her and Hashirama, or her and Madara, only fueled the public’s insatiable greed.

#

Tobirama, 25, looked up from his phone’s news ping, his expression cold and even. With his other hand, he lifted his coffee and sipped, his mood conflicted.

It was probably another publicity stunt. They’d had to do something, after Sasuke’s temper tantrum. But…

There was just something wrong, he felt, in making Sakura grow up to protect Sasuke, a spoiled brat, from consequence. He didn’t mean to criticize Tsunade and Kakashi, but he disagreed with the course of action they’d taken.

Sakura-chan looked thinner in every picture he saw. Was anyone looking after her?

…She was still a kid.

#

TBC