Chapter 13

'I killed someone. I'm a murderer. Sure, Danzo was a monster, but to personally pull the trigger…. How do people do this and not go insane?'

Sakura's hands shook heavily as she washed them in Madara's bathroom, getting ready to pull out bullets and apply first aid to herself and the Uchiha man. Her eyes lifted to the mirror to confirm her suspicions. The makeup Karin had done was waterproof, so it still appeared nearly flawless despite the graze on her cheek that dripped blood down her jaw and neck. Deep red also dirtied parts of her loose hair, the curls from earlier beginning to fade.

The look on her face adequately advertised instability. Green eyes darted anxiously, unable to focus on one thing for long.

'Get it together, girl. You can process all this when you're done treating everyone's wounds. Until then, choke it back. Shove it down.'

Taking a slow, deep breath, Sakura reopened her eyes, nodded once at her reflection, and grabbed the large box of supplies she'd scrounged up before entering Madara's bedroom, where the man sat on the edge of his bed with an expression that told her was likely to disappear the moment he could walk on his own.

Sitting the box down, the woman cut the leg of his pants so she'd have access to the bullet wound there. Rather than stop at his sleeve, she also cut the entire shirt off. Neither spoke as she used the freshly sanitized tweezers to dig the bullets out; the Uchiha didn't make a peep though it had to be incredibly painful.

Ino had taken a quick shower, changed clothes, and left to be rid of the vehicle they used as a getaway car. With Madara's instruction, she'll run it into a small lake across town so evidence like fingerprints or blood would be washed away should the vehicle be discovered. She'll get a taxi back to the apartment once the deed is done.

A wave of dizziness overcame Sakura when she was stitching the final wound on Madara's bicep. It had to be due to blood loss and having not eaten in over twenty-four hours, but she had to endure because there was no time to pause.

Suddenly, a flash of Danzo's dead face came across the woman's vision, and her breath hitched, body freezing and eyes widening.

'Why am I so terrified? He's gone. He's not coming back. I know that.'

"Breathe, Sakura."

She snapped out of her daze to realize her hands shook like they'd been in the bathroom earlier. Breathing deeply, Sakura willed her body to obey and returned to the stitching without responding to Madara.

Fifteen minutes later, he was finished, and the woman wordlessly cleaned up her mess as he excused himself to take a quick shower.

In the mirror attached to the man's dresser, Sakura re-sterilized the tweezers before beginning the tedious and excruciating process of removing the bullet from her arm. A gasp left her lips the moment the tool touched the wound. It hurt much more than she'd anticipated. Teeth grit, Sakura forced herself to continue.

'How did Madara sit there and take this pain without reacting?'

Hot tears flooded her vision, making seeing what she was doing even harder. Feeling more stressed by the second, her chest heaved as she angrily wiped at her face before returning to her task, only for more tears to blur it again.

"Stop fucking crying…." she hissed at herself angrily.

Speaking aloud seemed to help, so she mumbled to herself like a mantra in a panicked voice as she worked, "Stop. Stop. …Fucking stop…."

"Sakura, let me do it."

Her eyes glanced up at the mirror to see Madara standing behind her, a look of apparent concern on his features. Overwhelmed and irritated by her inability to keep it together, she gritted her teeth and returned to her wound. The further the tweezers dug into her arm, the hotter the area felt with pain, and the faster her breath and tears came.

"Stop! Please, just let me-" Sakura felt it clamp around the bullet, tearing it out of her arm with a gasp.

The moment it was removed, the tool slid through her trembling fingers, and she grasped the dresser's edge, panting with her head low. A hand gently touched her shoulder, and her spine straightened as she moved away, "Don't. I can do this on my own. I can."

'If I can't handle the aftermath of one bad night, then I really am worthless. There'll be no point in finishing school because stress will often be high like this.'

Holding Madara's glare with her own, the pair didn't speak or move for a long moment. When the man opened his mouth to finally say something, Sakura cut him off, "I'm gonna shower," her voice stubborn as she walked past him and back into the bathroom.

The moment the door closed behind her, a heavier wave of dizziness than before took her to the floor. Sakura caught herself with her forearm flat on the counter and one knee on the ground. Bloody pink hair fell over her shoulders and into her line of sight as she gasped for air, face toward the ground.

'You can do this. Just ten more minutes, and you can go to bed.'

She believed she could make it if she did a rush job bandaging her injuries.

Blood dripped onto the floor from her wounds. The woman kept telling her body to move, to stand up, but nothing happened. A weak groan left her mouth. She fell forward, her knees and palms to the ground as she fought with half-lidded eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura swallowed, trying to respond, but her mouth was too dry.

"I'm coming in."

The door opened behind her, and then Madara was helping her sit up, her back to the sink cabinet. She could barely keep her head up. He fetched the medical supplies and quickly began cleaning her wounds. His jaw was flexed as his teeth remained gritted the entire time. Dark eyes were focused and angry. The woman allowed the back of her head to rest against the object behind her, closing her eyes as she clung to her consciousness.

A knock came at the front door when Madara finished with her cheek. Sakura's eyes shot open, meeting his with a look of fear.

'It's not the cops, right?'

The man moved to stand, only for her to grab onto his arm, "Don't answer it if it's not Ino." He nodded, gently pulling away and leaving the room.

'You idiot. He knows that already.'

Sakura stared down at the red silk covering her lap, stained with large blotches of blood. It was ironic that the most expensive item of clothing she'd ever worn was ruined in such a way. Footsteps could be heard approaching, so she assumed it was indeed Ino who'd knocked.

"Sakura! My God…." Her eyes lifted to see Sasuke staring down at her in shock.

Tears immediately blurred her vision as his name left her lips. For some reason, seeing him made her feel like she didn't have to keep her brave facade up. No, they're not in love anymore, but he's still one of the people she's closest to.

He knelt before her, gently lifting her head with a hand on her jaw, dark eyes full to the brim with worry, "You need to go to the hospital. This is serious."

She grabbed his arm, voice almost unintelligible through her sobs, "No! Just help me here. No cops. No hospitals. Please."

He studied her face silently before nodding, voice lower, "Alright. Let's get you into the bath, then."

"Can you get her something to eat?" When Sasuke glanced at the open door to the room, she realized Madara was still there. He must've agreed because she heard footsteps receding in the hall.

The younger Uchiha man began running the water in the tub.

"Up you go, c'mon."

Sakura hissed when Sasuke pulled her arm around his shoulder, hoisting her to her feet. He kicked the door closed with one foot before carefully guiding her over so he could use it as leverage to keep her upright while she was being undressed. Everywhere hurt, Sakura's arm, back, face, neck, and feet.

When she was fully unclothed, he picked her up and gently moved her to the bath, wincing when he noticed the massive bruise on her back as though he could feel the throbbing pain, too.

As he got to work removing the blood from Sakura's skin, he spoke quietly, "Is this his fault?"

For some reason, the woman couldn't say yes. Sure, it wouldn't have happened if she never met Madara, but it was a fact she now knew well that he didn't have knowledge of Danzo's plans. So, she shook her head.

The man seemed hesitant but asked anyway, "...Sakura, what are you doing with a guy like that? You're gonna get yourself killed."

Rather than respond immediately, she took her time thinking about the answer. The fact was that Madara Uchiha was a dangerous man. More of his background was unknown to her than what she did have knowledge of. He's lied and unintentionally led to her current state of duress.

A light chill met her skin when she imagined cutting him out of her life because of all this.

That's when she realized it didn't matter. None of it did. When she helped him the day he was shot, in the back of her mind, she knew then that something like this could happen, but she still stayed.

"I love him, Sasuke," Sakura whispered.

His eyes widened. When they first began dating, it took them over a year to say those three words to one another, so he knew she didn't utter them without being entirely sure.

He was angry and a little hurt by the news, it was easy to see on his face, but he developed a small smile, shaking his head as he washed the blood from her hair, "I guess you really weren't cut out for a guy like me, huh?"

Sakura returned his smile, feeling touched that he wasn't reacting badly, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. You still might bleed out. Save it for when you wake up tomorrow," he rolled his eyes.

A soft knock came at the door, and she gave Sasuke a slight nod that it was okay for Madara to see her in that state. He frowned, "Come in." The older Uchiha man entered, his face set in a mask of stoicism.

Sitting a plate on the counter, he held Sakura's gaze, not looking away even though she was naked, "Ino's here. She, um…. She picked up a stray."

Sasuke stopped rinsing her hair, turning to glare at him, "What?"

"Who is it?" Sakura interjected, fearing the worst.

Madara sheepishly averted his gaze, "I'll let her tell you."

The door shoved open further, and the man was pulled out of the room. Ino's face was red and contorted in a way that said she knew Sakura wasn't going to be happy, "I may or may not have broken Sai out of the hospital and brought him here…."

Suddenly, the shocking news seemed to cancel out Sakura's dizziness, and she sat up, "You what!?"

The blonde threw her arms out from her sides dramatically, "Look, they hadn't even gotten him into their system yet. He wasn't identified. If I didn't grab him, he would've gotten arrested, Forehead! I couldn't let that happen. He totally saved our asses!"

"How is he even alive?"

"Fuck if I know! They gave him a blood transfusion and patched him up. I…. I had to be sure. I know I shouldn't have risked it, but I was right, wasn't I?"

So, Sasuke helped her dry off, stitched up her bullet wound while she ate the sandwich she'd been given, bandaged the grazes on her neck and cheek, got her dressed in some pajamas, and then the duo went out to the living room to see a very pale, very awake Sai laying on the sofa. Ino was also sitting there, with his head resting in her lap. The image was confusing because it was like her best friend forgot completely that Sai only approached her at the club to spy on them.

Before anyone could say anything, Sasuke gestured for Madara to come over, "Take her. I have to go lie to my family about what happened."

Sakura's eyes glazed over for a moment when the older Uchiha man's arm came around her waist to keep her upright, but she quickly snapped out of it, smiling to the best of her ability, "Sasuke, you have no idea how much this means to me. Really, thank you."

He nodded of understanding, sharing another look with Ino, who waved, and then he was gone.

It was nearly three in the morning, and all four people remaining in the apartment were visibly exhausted. Ino stood, grabbing Sai's hand and helping him to his feet, "We're gonna steal your bed, Saku. Don't worry; no sex," she made a pointing motion between her and Madara, "You two should talk."

The pair left before the pink-haired woman could protest, and then they were alone.

Without speaking, Madara helped her into his bedroom. He wasn't even limping on his injured leg anymore. The fact that he recovered from the gunshot from a few weeks ago quickly as well told Sakura it wasn't out of the ordinary. Then he turned to leave the room. Moving onto her side, Sakura looked at his back with a frown.

'He's been distancing himself from the moment we got here.'

"Wait."

The man froze in the doorway, a hand on the doorknob.

"You don't have to go."

He turned to look at her, his expression hesitant, "Sakura, you know-" "Stay."

The man's brow furrowed, but he sighed and came to kneel near the bed. Dark eyes surveyed her appearance, and when he finally spoke, his voice was tense and forced, "We can't. You know we can't."

Sakura forced herself to sit up. Some of her energy had returned after eating, "No, I don't, Madara." She reached for his hand, almost sighing with relief when he cautiously gave it.

Wincing, she put her legs over the edge of the bed, hesitantly touching the side of his face with her free hand, "You don't want to at least try? I…. I'm scared because there's so much I don't know, but I-I'm in l-" "No." The woman's mouth clamped shut, emerald eyes wide with surprise.

'He has to know what I was going to say, so why?'

Tears welled up, her chest tightening as she realized she may have mistakenly assumed he felt the same way. She pulled her hand from his face and covered her mouth as she averted her gaze, an absolutely humiliated blush heating her cheeks uncomfortably, "...Got it. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."

When she tried to pull her hand from his, he tightened his grip, making her meet his eye again, "I love you, Sakura." The woman's mouth fell open slightly, the tears overflowing and then cutting off due to shock.

"Nothing would make me happier than to be with you, but I can't. I-" His mouth shut, eyes dropping to their hands as he swallowed anxiously.

Meeting her gaze once more, he shook his head slightly as though begging her to understand, "I'm never going to forgive myself for letting it happen right under my nose, and I-" He took a shaky breath, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it as he closed his eyes, lips moving against her skin as he added, "I can't see you go through something like this again, Baby, I just can't."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat when the pet name left his lips as naturally as breathing. Tilting her head, she leaned forward, forcing him to look up at her, "Danzo's dead. You can get a regular job. I can finish school, and we can move away if that's what you want. I don't mind. My parents have plenty of money to visit wherever we-" "I don't understand how you aren't disgusted by me right now."

She gritted her teeth because she knew this conversation was coming and wasn't excited about it.

"Tell me right now, and be honest, did you know about the trafficking?" Depending on his response, she might end things then and there.

A fire ignited those dark eyes, anger obviously flaring up in the intimidating man, "No. Never. I've done unforgivable things, but that…. That's something I'll never condone."

Relief flooded Sakura's body, and she smiled sleepily, "Then I know I can forgive you."

"You…. Sakura, you can't be serious. After all this, you still won't…?" Madara's eyes were watery as though he was trying hard not to cry.

The picture put the pink-haired woman in tears, and her voice wavered as she whispered, "You're a good person. I know you are. You deserve to be happy, too, and if you have to tell yourself it's only because you'll break my heart if you leave, then fine, but stay."

His brow furrowed further, and he released her hand to reach up and cup her cheek, staring at her face as though he was truly seeing it for the first time, "You keep defying my expectations. I don't know why it still surprises me." Slowly, he raised up enough to kiss her gently, softly.

When he pulled away moments later, Sakura let out a small laugh, a pretty blush on her pale face. When he gave her a confused look, she shook her head, both amused and bashful, "'Baby'... I like the way it sounds." It was true that she hoped he'd make a habit of it. Somehow, it felt deeper, more intimate than "babe".

Madara's lips twitched as he smirked, holding back a grin as he kissed her once more before standing and pulling his shirt off over his head. Sakura's blush heightened as incredibly defined muscles stared her right in the face.

"U-Um, I'm sorry, but I don't think I have enough energy to-" "It's irritating the bandages. I'm not going to try anything when we both nearly died tonight," he couldn't hide his grin this time; obviously entertained by her shy reaction. The man bent to grab the hem of her shirt, expression warm, "Do you want yours off, too?"

Sakura wasn't nearly as brave as she was the night they slept together because she was drunk as can be then. Still, she nodded and allowed him to help her out of her pajamas, leaving her in just her underwear as they lay on the bed.

Cuddling wasn't feasible when both were so banged up, so they didn't even try. Madara lay on his side, the one that wasn't sporting two bullet wounds. Sakura lay on her back at first but found it incredibly uncomfortable because of the sensitive skin on her back. Wincing, she rolled onto her stomach, bringing her arms under her pillow with a sigh.

The room became silent again as she tried to fall asleep, only for the blanket to lower to the point that it only covered up her hips. A hiss sucked in through her teeth when the man beside her gently brushed his hand along the massive bruise on her back. Sakura turned her neck to bury her face in the pillow, unsure of what to say or do. Madara didn't say anything, either. No, he briefly traced the dark blemish before pulling the blanket back to cover it. Then he stopped moving.

The pink-haired woman turned to rest her cheek on the pillow, meeting his exhausted gaze with her own. There was understanding there. She knew the marks on her body were driving him into a guilt-induced madness, but he knew she wasn't blaming him for a single one and didn't want him to fret too much over them.

'A little bit of a fuss…. Well, I'd never say no to that. Especially from him.'

What woman doesn't want to be spoiled by a handsome, rugged man like Madara? Simply knowing he was attracted to her was hard to believe.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, a thought occurred to her, and she gasped, eyes shooting open. The man looked like he was about to roll her over and inspect her entire body for further injuries, but she spat out, "Merry Christmas!"

Madara seemed stunned momentarily before smiling and relaxing, "Merry Christmas."