Chapter 4

It was only a few hours after Madara woke to discover Sakura had disappeared from his apartment. He wasn't sure if her dinner invitation that evening still stood, but he was spending the day relaxing either way. So, he lay on the sofa with his feet propped up and his arm behind his head while absently browsing social media sites with the television playing some random action movie marathon he all but ignored. It was only for background noise, anyway.

Suddenly, something hit the wall that separated his apartment from Sakura's hard enough to have him sitting up and reaching for his gun in preparation to defend himself. He reached over and grabbed the remote, turning down the volume. Another sound came, this time a little softer but still alarming.

'What the hell's going on over there? Is she so mad that she's throwing things?' He didn't take her for the type, but she often surprised him.

The Uchiha man's curiosity was too strong. He texted Sakura, feeling as though going over and knocking would make her uncomfortable if she wanted to be alone. She didn't reply. Another loud noise came, and he sighed, stressfully running a hand through his hair. They were friends, but they weren't so close that he could justify barging into her apartment to demand an explanation, so he did what he could to remain distracted.

Only a minute passed before he got dressed, deciding to go for a walk to prevent himself from overstepping his bounds. When he stepped into the hallway and turned to ensure his door was locked, he glanced over, only to do a double-take when a black-haired man walked out of Sakura's apartment looking incredibly pissed off. The younger man barely glanced at Madara before heading toward the elevator.

He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but the older man quickened his gait so he could enter the elevator with the angrier one. In the back of his mind, he mused upon getting a better look at the kid, 'It's like looking in a mirror ten years ago.' Sure, they shared dark-colored traits, but he was referring to the rage that lit the young man's gaze.

"You're Sakura's neighbor, right? She told me about you."

Madara was surprised he chose to speak but nodded.

The younger man looked him up and down as though measuring his appearance. The older Uchiha clearly had the physical advantage in height and muscle mass, but Sakura's boyfriend didn't back down. With a firm glare, he met Madara's gaze, "She has a boyfriend, so she doesn't need you to come around anymore."

'Suddenly, this pretty boy's face looks much more punchable.'

"Are these her words or yours?"

Madara cursed himself inwardly. He intended to gauge what'd caused those sounds in her apartment. Upon realizing a man was there, his mind jumped right to the worst-case scenario: that he'd hurt her. Now, he was swiftly losing his temper with the cocky little college student trying to threaten him for no reason other than his own insecurity.

"I'm telling you to back off."

The elevator doors opened in the lobby, revealing a blonde kid with blue eyes. When the younger man didn't step out and instead kept glaring at Madara to demonstrate the seriousness of his statement, the new person looked between them, "Sasuke, what's up, man? Who's this guy?"

'So, his name's Sasuke, then?'

Madara didn't falter but also didn't match his level of anger. He chose to visually keep his cool. "I'll leave her alone when she tells me to herself," he mirrored Sasuke's act of looking him up and down, "Aren't you getting out?"

The blonde guy put two and two together, "Oh, are you Madara? Sakura told us how you helped her out on Halloween. Nice to meet ya! My name's Naruto." He held out a hand for the older man to shake. Gingerly, the older Uchiha obliged.

Naruto grinned widely, "We're about to get some dinner. Do you wanna-" "He's not coming with us, idiot," Sasuke cut his friend off, eyes still dark and firmly on the long-haired man.

Madara flawlessly plastered on a fake smile, "Nice to meet you two, but I have errands to run. If you'll excuse me."

Though he'd never admit it out loud, the enraged expression on Sasuke's face brought him immense satisfaction, he hid it well as he walked past them and outside to take that planned walk.

'Sakura loves a pompous asshole like him? I don't get it,' he thought.

When Madara had pictured what his friend's love interest was like, he expected an outgoing and popular guy, maybe a little preppy. Sasuke wasn't any of those things except maybe popular, which had to be solely because of his looks. What surprised him the most was how quickly he tried to put Madara in his place. Sakura's many things, but weak isn't one of them. For God's sake, she raised her fists to him the night they met! Why would Sasuke think she needed him to stand up for her?

The Uchiha man frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets as his mood steadily soured. She doesn't need it and likely doesn't want it, either. It was easy to understand how the couple was having issues. They're so different. When that's the case, it's perfection or disastrous, never an in-between.

Madara returned to the apartment later on and ventured to knock on Sakura's door because she still hadn't responded. Though she didn't open it, she did speak to him through it, "I'm in the middle of something right now, but we're still on for dinner, right?"

The relief over his body physically made him take a surprised step backward. He masked his confusion well, "Of course. I'll see you later."

In the five strides it took to get to his apartment door, Madara came to the realization that he cared for the pink-haired girl more than expected. Sure, they're friends, but the man's never been able to bring himself to care much about others. People come and go. No one ever stays for long. That was a lesson he learned the hard way early on in life, and he hasn't allowed himself to be hurt like that since.

It was dangerous for him to have any relationship with someone unaware of the truths behind his work. He's stolen from, beaten, and even killed people under Danzo's instruction, and he'll continue to do so because no one gets to walk away from this lifestyle. If Madara's enemies didn't try to kill him, then Danzo surely would for refusing to obey his command. He knew that when he was first offered a job, but he didn't care then. All he wanted was money and to feel powerful.

More significantly, Sakura is already in a world of potential danger for being vaguely involved with him. She's physically fragile and isn't even aware of her position.

Madara was fighting an internal battle with himself. The right thing to do would be to cut her out of his life because then she'd be safe, but he didn't want to do that. He's a selfish, greedy man and has been for his entire life. Life seems a little brighter and more exciting with her around, and he doesn't want to give that up.

'Calm down. What are you even thinking? You've known each other for less than a month, yet here you are, thinking of her as though she's your wife or something. If she could hear your thoughts, she'd probably get a restraining order!'

~

As guilty as Sakura felt for putting Madara in a difficult position by sleeping with him, she shamelessly kept his shirt on because she'd come to associate his scent with a calming effect. After all, he's been lending her an ear for her relationship drama and school troubles. At present, he's acting as a better friend than Ino, though the blonde couldn't be blamed because she's overseas.

Sakura did finally cut off the waterworks, brushed her teeth and hair, and washed her face, but that was the extent of her collectedness. She fell lifelessly onto the sofa and simply laid there with her eyes zoned out on nothing as she thought about the last six years of her life.

Last night, the pain was like a bleeding, throbbing wound. Today it left her feeling hollow and dull. Sakura was drained. Her head pounded with a hangover, but she couldn't bring herself to get up and get some pain pills or even a glass of water.

An unknown amount of time passed before she was pulled from her daze by the sound of her apartment door opening and closing. Slowly, she sat up, eyes widening when Sasuke came into view.

They just stared at one another for a moment, but Sakura made herself speak first if only to preserve her wounded pride, "Thanks for bringing back my key. You can leave now."

The Uchiha man was visually uncomfortable, but he did the unexpected and pretty much begged, "Sakura, I fucked up. I know I fucked up big, but I'm so sorry. I swear it'll never happen again, so please don't end things like this."

Sakura thought she was too dehydrated to cry anymore, but her body betrayed her, and tears began to well in her eyes as she rose to her feet, "I said leave. Get out."

She tried to tear her wrists away when Sasuke closed the distance and wrapped his hands around them, but his grip was too firm, and she settled for glaring hatefully. She's a sad and dull woman, but she won't go back to a cheater. No. Once that bridge is crossed, there's no coming back.

"I love you, Sakura, please. Give me a chance to make it up to you."

The heartbreak had left her for the most part, and she struggled to keep her rage under control. Her hands balled into fists, "If you don't get your hands off of me, I'll call the cops. I don't want to see you. I don't want to talk. I don't want anything to do with you. Now, get out!" She wanted to cringe when her voice raised slightly toward the end of her sentence, but she didn't.

Sasuke seemed slightly surprised by her firmness because she managed to pull out of his grasp and walked around the coffee table to put some space between them. His dark eyes followed her, making her uncomfortable because a familiar glint of anger rose within them. His temper is notorious. He's never hit her, but he's come close a few times; he certainly said many cutting things when they fought in the past.

When he finally spoke, he didn't say what she expected. In fact, she was so surprised that her arms uncrossed, and she took a few steps backward. "Who's shirt is that?" Sakura's mouth opened to explain, but the words wouldn't come out. She knew it was evident to him what had happened. What she didn't know was how he'd respond.

Sasuke turned his body to face her more fully, taking a step closer, "Did you fuck another guy last night?" When Sakura couldn't reply, his anger visually heightened, but his voice lowered into a hiss, "You hypocrite. Did you do it to get back at me? Who was it? I'll kill him."

Sakura finally found her voice, biting angrily, "Who or What I do stopped being your concern when you decided to cheat! Tell me, Sasuke, how long has it been going on? A month? Six? A year? Fuck you."

"I'm still your boyfriend, and Karin doesn't matter. She's dead in my eyes, I swear. Now, tell me his name."

"You are not my boyfriend. You're not anything to me anymore."

A small squeak passed her lips, and she cringed with her hands coming up in defense when one of the textbooks on her coffee table was suddenly thrown at her television, smashing the screen loudly. Her rage turned into fear as she looked up at Sasuke and hardly recognized him.

"I made one fucking mistake, Sakura! I thought you loved me. Remember you said you would marry me when we were twelve? What happened to that girl?"

Tears overflowed as Sakura shakily tried to hold onto her confidence, "That girl was still ready to marry you until last night! Don't try to pin the blame on me for this. You're the one who cheated on me, not the other way around. It's your fault."

Hands firmly encircled her upper arms, and her back hit the wall between the kitchen and living room with a loud thump.

Sasuke's glare was burning with emotion, the anger all but seeping from his pores as he leaned in to look her dead in the eye, "Did you ever stop to think about why I did it? It's like you stopped thinking about me, Sakura. All you ever want to do is study. You stopped wearing dresses and makeup. We barely even fuck anymore. It's like you're frigid or something. You stopped trying. I may have cheated, but you didn't give me much choice."

Each word cut deeper than the last, and Sakura tugged against his hold while barely holding back her sobs, "I hate you! I never want to see you again!"

Her breath caught in her throat when Sasuke shook her, shoving her against the wall again. Then his lips were against hers. She fought against him, but he didn't move. After a couple moments, he pulled away but wrapped his hand around her neck. He didn't choke her, but the grip was firm enough to send ice down her spine.

Terrified emerald eyes stared wide into black, seething ones as Sasuke spoke as though his words were to be etched into stone as law, "We are not breaking up. Let's take a few days to breathe, and then things will go back to normal, okay?"

He framed the question as though she had a choice in the matter, but Sakura knew he'd really lose his temper if she said no, so she nodded. All she wanted was for his fingers to leave her neck so she could stop holding her breath.

Sasuke kissed her again, more softly this time, before pulling back, kissing her forehead, and then he turned and left her apartment, keeping the spare copy of her key. Sakura crumpled down onto her knees in sobs.

'I don't know who that man is, but he's no longer the Sasuke I love. He's changed.'

Sure, the couple had their fair share of fights, but she never thought he could threaten her like that. Hands severely shaking, she crawled over to unplug her television. The shattered screen was making it harder for her to calm down.

She'd never been scared of someone more than she was of Sasuke just then. Maybe she's been blessed with safety until now. No one's ever tried to hurt her in the past. It was likely because of Sasuke, funnily enough, because everyone knew he'd hunt them down if they did. The man that used to make her feel safe was now the cause of her terror.

Unsure of what to do after such an event, Sakura began picking up the mess in her living room, checking her phone to see that she had a message from Madara. 'Everything okay?'

It was apparent he heard at least some of what happened. She was more surprised that he was messaging her because he told her straight to her face that once he sleeps with a woman, he never wants to see them again, yet he was texting her as though she hadn't taken advantage of him last night.

'Maybe he wants to talk, so he can let me down easy. He'd probably feel guilty if he just cut me out like the other girls. We do have to remain neighbors, after all.'

A knock came at her door an hour later while she hung a quilt over her broken TV to hide its shattered screen. When she peeked through the peephole, she realized it was her neighbor and decided to take responsibility for her actions.

If he wants a chance to talk about it, then she'll give it to him because it's likely she hurt his feelings. He knows that she's aware of his strategy for women. The fact that she still threw herself at him when he was under the impression they were well on their way to being close friends might've hurt him. It may just be that Sakura was giving herself too much credit. Either way, she was at fault, so the least she could do was look him in the eye like an adult.

She spoke as solidly as possible, "I'm in the middle of something right now, but we're still on for dinner, right?"

If she was going to see him today, she needed to spend some serious time in the bathroom mirror putting on makeup to hide any signs of what had just happened with Sasuke. Despite his appearance, the woman couldn't imagine Madara hurting a fly, but she didn't want to test that theory.

"Of course. I'll see you later." He sounded completely normal.

Over the next four hours, Sakura showered, dressed into one of her nicer casual outfits, applied some makeup, washed and dried Madara's shirt so she could return it, and began cooking. She'd been so excited to try the new recipe, but her heart just wasn't into it after the last twenty-four hours of stress.

As though he was psychic, Madara arrived just moments before dinner was ready. Sakura swallowed nervously, forcing a smile so he wouldn't feel awkward, "Hey, sorry about earlier. How are you? Did you have a good day?" She retrieved two beers from the fridge, opened them, and handed one to him.

He came to lean his back against the counter and watched as she pulled the casserole dish from the oven with red mitts covering her hands, "Pretty boring. You?"

The man strategically avoided bringing up the text he'd sent earlier, likely picking up that she didn't want to talk about it because she never responded. Sakura was grateful. So much so, in fact, that she returned the favor by not bringing up what happened last night. She'll let him decide when they'll talk about that.

"Oh, uh, same."

They were soon sitting at her little dining table and silently eating. For the very first time, Sakura felt incredibly uncomfortable because of Madara. Truthfully, it wasn't anything he did. It was her anxiety. It made her throat hypothetically swell and prevented her from being able to speak easily.

"...Nice quilt."

Sakura lifted her gaze to see he was looking at the colorful blanket covering her broken TV and choked. Madara looked at her like she'd grown a second head, but she just waved a dismissive hand at him and coughed, covering her mouth with her other. Once her windpipe was clear and she could breathe, her eyes were watering. She took a drink before nodding with a bright red face, "My grandma made it."

'This is excruciating. I wish he'd just get it over with already.'

The meal finished, and Sakura handed over his freshly cleaned shirt, accepting hers from last night from him. Then they awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to do or say.

The tension rose swiftly until the pink-haired woman couldn't take it anymore. She told herself she'd let him control the conversation, but he was beating around the bush, and her heart couldn't withstand much more stress.

"Madara, last night…. I-I…. I hope you know how sorry I am, really."

His brow furrowed, but he shook his head, "It's not a big deal."

For some reason, his response sent a pang through her chest. She was hurt. Unable to restrain herself, she stepped backward and inwardly begged the tears welling in her eyes not to fall, "...Not a big deal?"

First, Sasuke called her frigid, and now Madara was insinuating he couldn't care less about them sleeping together even though he knows how big of a deal sex would be for her. She's only ever slept with Sasuke. If she approached someone else while sober, she wouldn't have the first clue about what to do.

Madara tilted his head slightly, studying her with confused and calculating eyes, "No, worse things have happened to me."

The air in her lungs evaporated, 'Sasuke was right; I am boring in bed. This is too humiliating. I can't do this!'

Her tears overflowed, and Madara seemed stunned, "Sakura, what's-" "Please…just leave," she cut him off.

His mouth clamped shut, and Sakura averted her eyes to the floor, wiping at her warm cheeks.

When the Uchiha man spoke again, his voice was much quieter, "Did something happen?"

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. She thought he'd be the one to get offended, but it was her instead. He was feigning ignorance to embarrass her further; at least, that's what it felt like. Well, if he wasn't going to be mature about it, then she'll just have to handle it for the both of them.

She tried to glare at him, but it wouldn't stick, "Yeah, something happened. I got drunk and forced myself on you, and now you're-" her voice cut off, and she turned her head to the side, covering her mouth with one hand while looking down at the ground as a sob tightened her throat and made it impossible to continue.

Madara sounded unbelievably surprised, "Wait, you think we…?"

Sakura lifted her watery gaze to see a shimmer of amusement in his eyes, and her brow furrowed, "Is this funny to you?"

The glint disappeared, and his eyes widened as he tossed the folded shirt in his hands onto the sofa so he could hold them up in a calming gesture, "No! No, it's not. Nothing happened last night. You were drunk and crying and asked me to stay, so I did, but that's all; I swear."

Sakura sniffled, stunned to the core. They didn't have sex? She couldn't remember seeing him at all last night, so she couldn't be entirely sure. All she has to go on is what she woke up to and what Madara says happened.

The clothes in her arms fell to the floor, and she wiped more heavily at her tears, "W-We didn't…I didn't force you to…?"

Madara shook his head, "I promise, Sakura."

The woman could've melted with relief. Instead, she fell into heavy sobs, covering her face with both hands, shaking her head, "I'm sorry. I'm so embarrassed! I thought I made you think I didn't want to see you anymore, and I just felt so bad."

Long fingers gently pulled one of her hands from her face, and she shyly stumbled forward to press her forehead to his chest, surprised by how natural it felt. Strong arms encircled her body, making her feel tiny but secure.

The warmth and comfort made her feel safe, and she admitted softly into the man's shirt, "I had a horrible day yesterday. Sorry you had to deal with me."

After a minute or two, Sakura calmed down, and Madara released her. His expression returned to its usual impassive appearance, and he glanced around the room only for his eyes to land on the quilt. The pink-haired woman watched as he carefully lifted the edge of the blanket, only to pull it completely off the device to see the extent of the damage.

She lied through her teeth before he could ask, "I tripped earlier and fell into it." He looked at her, and she laughed unconvincingly, "An expensive accident, huh?"

He seemed to believe her and nodded, quickly moving on from the topic, "Hey."

Sakura's grin faded, and she faced him more fully, "What?" She studied his serious face, unsure of what to expect.

He paused but eventually replied, "It really is okay. That's what friends are for, right?" He was obviously talking about how guilty she felt for being a drunken burden to him last night.

The girl smiled, her stomach feeling warm, "Yeah. If you get drunk and need someone to cry to, just call, and I'll come to the rescue."

The man barely held back his chuckle but seemed in better spirits, just like her, "Deal."