To address the reviews I received:

First, thank you for any and all praise! It really does keep me going and inspire me.

Second, I know that Saezuri seemed a bit common, a bit cliche, and a bit like a Sue at the beginning of Sparrow. I began writing this story when I was just 16, and without a complete overhaul (that would take me months upon months), I'm going to leave it as is. I had wanted her to seem blank and to leave the reader in the dark as far as her motivation etc, so that I had somewhere to slowly grow her character. The reason why it seems like I'm delving more into their relationship and things are more realistic now, is because I've grown so much personally since then. I don't look at love as fluffily now, or expect it to be perfect and that reflects in my current writing. And honestly, I'm with a man that is very very very much like how I write Madara. (Minus the abuse of course!)

And to the question of how I would describe Sae, and what her morals are- She is malleable. That is the best word for her.

She grew up with only a mother. An ill mother, at that. Failed at becoming a shinobi (for Iwa at least). Was stranded on her own at a young age, and fell into a profession that threatened her very life and had to protect herself (without violence). She had to keep in the good graces of the brothel owner so that she had a place to live, without putting herself into prostitution- which frankly, I would imagine the death rate to be comparable to being a shinobi.
She viciously defends what is hers- because she hasn't had much. And in her eyes, Madara is now hers, which is why she does his bidding beyond the obvious feelings of love. She doesn't want to lose him, one of the very few people who have ever regarded her with respect. Even if it is a weird, slightly abusive relationship that isn't what others would see as 'normal'.
But Madara does respect and care for her, which is why he allows her to do the things she does. She may infuriate and piss him off, but he allows it.

As for the ending, it's already written :-) But we have a long way to go before then.

"Make one wrong move and I will kill you." Saezuri breathed into Sakura's ear as she crouched beside the younger girl, her skinny, long frame dwarfing the Konoha nin. A flash of green met Saezuri before Sakura flitted her eyes back to Madara's bare chest. He was sitting on a bedroll, arms calmly resting on his crossed legs. Saezuri scowled slightly when Sakura's hand lit with a soft green glow, her fingers shaking slightly as she laid her hand tentatively on Madara's skin. The tawny, healthy tone of Sakura's skin contrasted sharply to Madara's pale skin, the old scar that twisted across his chest a faded purple hue.

"There is significant scarring on his chakra coils." Sakura stated in an off balanced way, bringing her other hand to up to join in her diagnostics. She was silent for several more minutes, a small frown growing on her face.

"Well?" Sae's eyes darted to Madara's, his tone flat as he spoke. He quirked an eyebrow at her tenseness, silently berating her for being so on edge.

"I… don't know if I can do anything." Sakura's eyes flitted up to meet Saezuri's, slightly uncomfortable at her closeness, "Medical jutsu cannot repair chakra pathways. While his coils are still in tact, the fact that the scar tissue is internal might mean I cannot reach it."

"Might, or won't?" Sae questioned, scowling fiercely, "I told you once before, either you do everything to your fullest ability, or I. Kill. You." Sakura swallowed, turning back to face Madara's chest. The man was so big, she felt like a child in front of him. And Saezuri's subtle, threatening presence at her side made Sakura feel wholly boxed in. She could destroy the floor with a single punch, but she knew if she so much as tried to fight either of them, she would inevitably lose. Madara was too much of an unknown, which paired with his apparent ability to phase through solid matter, made him untouchable. Saezuri was a more calculable threat- but Sakura had yet to see her truly fight, and the quiet aura she exuded was that of someone highly trained. With Madara as a mentor… Sakura couldn't take the chance. She had to get back to her team in one piece, the information she had gained so far was too valuable.

And she knew where Sasuke was! Her whole mission was within her reach, if only…

If only she heal an Akatsuki member. The people that threatened her village's very existence. That threatened Naruto's life.

"I will try." She finally said in a small voice, all too hyper-aware of how Saezuri shifted on her heels slightly. Sakura glanced at her- taking in her hunched, thin shoulders, her lashes swept down to half cover dark eyes and strands of pale hair falling from around her ears as she gazed at Madara's feet with a tiny frown. Sakura was suddenly struck with how human she looked. Sae's worry was tangible. She obviously cared for the stoic man in front of them, and his own compliance in the matter spoke volumes. In a different setting, Sakura would be frantically trying to help them just for the simple sake of trying to hold them together and let them live a full life.

"One sign of pain from him and I will cut your throat." Sae voiced quietly, devoid of any inflection. Sakura blanched, pulling away from Madara slightly.

"He will feel some pain, I will have to cut the tissue away with chakra and cauterize it to prevent new growth!" She snapped back without thought, paling when Madara raised a hand to quiet both her and Saezuri's furious retort. Sakura's heart skipped a beat when he pinned Saezuri with a hard stare, the woman merely holding his gaze. Their interaction came off as practiced, and the fact that Saezuri held no fear impressed Sakura. Grudgingly.

"I can handle it from here, Saezuri." He spoke in a smooth tone, startling Sakura like a smack to the face when his lips curved upward in a confident smirk, "Your mother-henning is appreciated, however." He reached out and flicked Sae's forehead with a swift hand that Sakura nearly missed.

So much like Sasuke. Sakura thought, her cheeks tinging the faintest pink against her will. This man- he was everything that Sasuke was heading towards, and frankly, it terrified her. Madara was more open than his younger heir, but his aura was still every bit as dark and threatening as Sakura had expected. Dark and threatening except when it came to Saezuri, however. He took on a playful edge around her, warmly humoring her even when Sakura got the feeling he would strike down any other that dared to treat him similarly.

"Fine." Saezuri held a hand to her forehead at the stinging pain, lips curving down even as her face flamed. Madara had just destroyed her composure with a single sentence, purposefully. She stood fluidly and turned to sit on a nearby chair, partially to regain her countenance.

"I'll do what I can." Sakura met Madara's gaze for less than a second, swiftly sweeping her eyes to focus on her hands on his chest. Using her chakra, she tried to coax his tissue, stubborn and years old, to remiss into nothingness. She met a brittle wall, Madara's body fighting her over each individual cell. For hours she toiled, hyper aware of Saezuri's posture and Madara's silent menace, the sweat beaded on Sakura's brow not exclusively from chakra exhaustion.

"You're done?" Saezuri's tone was cutting, raspy from hours of disuse. Sakura sharply looked at her, frowning.

"I'm out of chakra."

"Tch." Sae scoffed, glancing to the side. She stood, gesturing for Sakura to do the same. Her knees screamed but she obeyed, eyeing the taller woman across from her warily.

"How do you feel?" Sae cut her eyes to Madara, the man flexing a hand in front of his face.

"I'm fine." He quirked his lips at his charge, dark eyes alight, "She made some progress." At the praise, Sakura felt a small tick of pride that she quickly squashed down. She shouldn't be helping these people, but what choice did she have?

"Move." Sae flicked her hand at Sakura, following her out the door, "I'll be back." She directed over her shoulder at Madara, sweeping her eyes over his form. He was being surprisingly complacent, which perked Sae's suspicions. She expected callous disdain, irritability, but he was merely blank.

"Aa." He answered, watching the two women leave the room. With an exhaustive exhale, Madara laid back on the futon. His sharingan flickered to life as soon as he was alone, sweeping down to inventory his chakra system. Sakura had cleared a number of pathways, enough that he could feel a faint surge in his available chakra. Experimentally, Madara pulled as much as he could from his core, laughing in mad delight when the rush of energy flooded his veins. Concentrating for a long moment, he converted his chakra to be tinged with a faint touch of fire nature, blasting through his coils with a sudden surge. The rest of the scar tissue withered under the onslaught, effectively restoring his chakra system to a functioning state. Madara knew it wouldn't last, but for the next few months… he would be a god. A vicious laugh tore from his throat as he ambled to his feet, fluid and wondrous.

Saezuri stilled her hand from knocking on the door down the corridor, feeling the faint pulse of a familiar yet foreign chakra. The energy had been close, and felt like Madara, but…. It was different somehow. More rounded. Robust. Her chakra sensing had always been shaky at best, but damn if she didn't know her partner's particular feel. And it had definitely felt like him.

"You'll be staying here for the night. You'll be killed if you leave." She absentmindedly directed back at Sakura before knocking on the door in front of her. Another pulse of chakra distracted her, Sae's eyes flicking down the hall.

"What is he to you?" Sakura voiced in a meandering tone, cautious when Saezuri's outstretched hand paused slightly.

"A mentor." The reply was smooth, Saezuri's coal eyes flicking back to look at Sakura.

"I wouldn't go to those lengths for my mentor." Sakura pointed out. A lie, but she was beyond curious. The more time she spent around Saezuri, the more that her actions didn't add up.

"Don't go poking your nose into things that don't concern you." Saezuri said quietly, her eyes sharpening, "Or you may just ruin your chances of ever leaving here. As it is, I don't like the idea of harming the person that healed Madara, but I will if the need arises." She swiftly rapped again on the door, letting her comment wash over Sakura.

"What?" Sasuke cracked the door open, face surprisingly haggard. Like he wasn't sleeping.

"She's staying here for the night." Sae tilted her head towards Sakura, the younger girl stunned. Sasuke's dark eyes drifted over his former teammate, calculating.

"No." He stilted, moving to shut the door.

"Wait-!" Sakura threw out a hand, not quite connecting and hovering uncertainly. Sasuke paused in closing the door, giving her a skeptical look.

"I'm not going back with you and I won't return to Konoha. Leave." He sneered at her, snapping the door closed. Saezuri blinked, his reply obviously alluding to a previous conversation.

"What is he to you?" Saezuri asked with quirked lips, throwing Sakura's earlier question right back at her. The Konoha nin clenched a fist, green eyes flashing. Without comment, she threw a punch at Sae, who skipped back in alarm.

"So that's how it is?" Sae quirked a brow, settling a hand on her sword hilt, "I'll give you one chance to rescind that move."

"I won't." Sakura snapped, kicking the floor. The stone buckled and left a gaping chasm, Saezuri stumbling into the rubble in surprise, "You're Akatsuki. I'm going to capture you and bring you in."

"Like hell you are." Saezuri snapped her sword from her belt, flicking the blade to rest along her forearm in a reverse grip as she gained the best footing she could on the broken floor. Sakura flew forward, aiming a punch for Sae's midsection that she blocked with the flat of her sword. The weapon was blown from her grip with a force that bruised her fingers. With a snarl, she rolled away, recalculating. Sakura quickly settled into an offensive stance, eyeing the tall furious woman across from her.

"Let's not fight, shall we?" Madara's head and shoulder morphed out of the wall, his eyes glittering as they settled on the impending scuffle in front of him, "I would hate to have to lick your wounds later." He directed at Sae, licking his lips suggestively when she rubbed her closed fist at the ache Sakura's surprise attack had caused. With a sinuous move he appeared in full, his head cocked to the side as he shifted his eyes to Sakura. Madara raised a casual hand after a long pregnant pause, the door to Sasuke's room blowing open with a resounding bang.

"I believe you were told where to reside." He commented, eyes half lidded and lazily threatening. Sweeping his arm around, he pointed a single finger at Sakura, her eyes flying wide as her body lifted into nothingness and was shepherded into Sasuke's room. With a quick twist of his wrist, the door slammed shut behind her, leaving Sae eyeing Madara cautiously.

"My dear," He swept forward, laying his large, over-warm hand on her collarbone, "As admirable as it is, I must ask that you keep your nose out of my transgressions."

"What are you doing?" Saezuri swept her eyes up and down his figure, skeptical, "This isn't like you."

"Oh?" Madara lifted a brow, features sharp as he regarded her. He took in her bristled form, coal eyes searching his furiously.

"Usually you let things go until you feel the need to save me." Saezuri frowned deeply, irritated at the difference in him that she couldn't pinpoint, "I can handle myself." Madara's features slammed into a frown at her words, his hand flying out to grip her wrist.

"I never doubted you, but if you need to see how helpless you are, I'll show you." He hauled down suddenly, Sae protesting as her cheek hit his chest. "I can show you dimensions that you never dreamed of. Places where acid rains from the sky and places where there is no ground to stand on. Where you lose your sense of up and down, much less how to move forward." His voice reverberated, the deep tone sounding distorted from how Sae's ear was pressed to his chest. Madara dipped his head down, drawing Saezuri's head up with a long sinuous finger. "No matter how much I expose you to, you'll never be able to keep up with exactly what I'm involved in."

"Then what am I doing with you?" Sae snapped, shoving away from him with a vicious twist, "Why am I here, why have you involved me?" She spat, dark eyes meeting his.

"Curiosity." Madara leveled with her, letting his grip fall away completely. He watched Saezuri's face twist at that single word, his face stoic. "You were an unknown that appeared at a suspicious time." He tilted his chin down, bending enough to grip her shoulders, "An unknown that has risen to meet every challenge that I have given you."

"I've killed for you. I've murdered innocent people for you." Saezuri went cold at his words, her face tingling with apprehension, "And it's all just a game to you? It means nothing, just a curiosity?" She glared at him, his cool eyes and stern features looking nothing more than a cover to the madness swirling just behind his dark gaze.

"What else is life?"

Please review me more questions! It helps me direct my focus.