Chapter 19

That evening at dinner, I struggled to meet anyone's eye for two very big reasons. One: I don't know if Ino, Izumi, and Temari actually did what they said they were going to do and spoke with the Uchiha men to see who wants to group up to have sex. Then there's reason two: Madara and I had a conversation that did not end well.

He forced me to feel something more for him by becoming one of my masters, one of the people who had a part in my being turned into a vampire. I'm mad and I'm humiliated, but above all else I'm hurt.

After spending three months fighting for survival with him and Ino in Sonukuni, I thought the worst was behind us in regards to our rocky relationship. I really thought we were on our way to actually being friends, to understanding one another, but I was wrong. No, he built up my trust just to shove it right in my face.

I didn't expect him to even consider feeding me his blood while I slept because I thought he'd grown to have at least a little respect for me and my wants. Madara played the role of a once-bad-guy-striving-for-redemption very well in order to fool me like that. Now I don't know if anything was real at all or if he truly had been pretending in order to get what he wanted.

He's manipulative. He's a liar and I'm an idiot for feeling betrayed like this because I should've known better. This is the man who lied to my face for days after attacking me and leaving me to bleed out on the floor. This is the man who forcefully stole my first kiss and has glowed me time and time again to be obedient and silent so he can keep having his fun.

"Sakura, can I talk to you please?"

Sasuke and I turned to see Rin nervously standing behind us right before we could take the stairs up to our room. I gave the prince an affirming look and he continued while I faced the short girl, "Is everything alright?"

She glanced around to make sure no one was in the vicinity before blushing, "I, um, I wanted to thank you for your part in my and Obito's rescue. We both were informed of all that happened beforehand and…I-I...It must've been really scary, so thank you."

Tears welled up in my eyes at her sincere words and I had to stop myself from reaching out to hold her hands or hug her because I know she has a very skittish nature, "I appreciate that. If I'm being honest, I didn't know about you until we returned to the hotel, but I'm happy you're no longer stuck in that awful place."

She smiled, looking much less terrified than before, "Obito offered to let me stay with him and I think I'm going to accept. I hope you and I can become friends."

A bit surprised, my grin widened, "Me too!" With a few more casual words exchanged she went off to find Tenten, whom she vowed to assist during her stay here.

I went on the prowl for Obito rather than head straight upstairs. I found him in the family room reading a book, "So you and Rin, huh?"

He jumped slightly, looking over at me in shock before blushing like mad, "W-What?"

Grinning widely, I came to sit on the other end of the sofa, "She said you offered to take her along with you. You like her, right?" The bashful expression on his face increased tenfold and he sputtered to try and respond, making me giggle, "Well I think you found a good one. She's really sweet."

Obito's panic calmed enough that he could smile sheepishly, "T-That's…I don't know about all this romance stuff. I don't even know how to confess to her."

I tilted my head, "Wait, you've never…? Aren't you over three hundred?"

He covered his face with the open book in his hands, "I'm not a virgin, Sakura. I've just never felt this way about someone before."

Warmth touched my heart and I gently grabbed his hand to lower the book so I could meet his eye, "Just be yourself. It'll come to you."

He sighed, nodding, "Yes, I know. Thank you."

After bidding him a good night, I finally retreated to Sasuke and I's room for the evening. He was just stepping into the bath when I arrived and I joined him. As I massaged shampoo into my hair, he surprised me.

"The dreams you've been having. They're about my uncle." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Izumi being cut off earlier didn't stop him from inferring the rest of her inquiry.

Helpless tears raised in my eyes and I turned my back to him, coming down a bit to rinse the soap from my long hair, "They're just dreams. They don't mean anything."

"I'm not putting the blame on you."

After rinsing, I turned to meet his eye and couldn't for the life of me read his expression, but it wasn't necessarily guarded, "The bond between a master and a fledgling isn't something you can get rid of just because you don't like it, Sakura."

I wiped at my face as the tears overflowed, shoulders sinking defeatedly as I took a step toward him, happy he understands, but devastated to hear my fears confirmed, "What do we do now, then?"

Long fingers ran up my back once I was close enough to embrace him, "Did you speak with him?"

I nodded, figuring he already knew I'd try to anyway, "He said he did it because he wanted to and nothing else."

Dark eyes searched mine for a quiet moment before he leaned down to kiss me, then he pulled away so he could respond, "There's no way to prevent him from abusing the bond." I nodded, pressing my forehead to his with a frown.

"I'm not strong enough to protect you from this."

An awful taste came to my tongue at his self-deprecating words and tone. I pulled back so I could frown at him, "Sasuke, don't say things like that. We'll figure this out. Maybe since I'm not normal, the bond isn't normal either."

His eyes lit up slightly, "Kakashi's ally in Sunagakure." Without adding more, I understood what he was saying. Kakashi said his friend that's currently staying in Suna is acquainted with another person like me. Maybe if we locate this person and they introduce us, they'll have some advice for us.

With that concern temporarily addressed, I tried to lighten the air, "Oh, I glowed someone earlier!" His eyebrows raised and I nodded proudly, "I didn't even have to get mad to do it, either."

He smirked, "Try it on me, then."

So we finished bathing and stood before one another in our room. I repeated exactly what I did earlier, but he didn't move a muscle. Instead, he looked amused. Frowning, I mumbled, "It really did work earlier, though…"

He fought not to smile before shaking his head, "You can't glow me, I'm your master."

Humiliated blush rose to my cheeks and I groaned, "So all this was just to tease me? You ass!"

"I bet you can't resist mine anymore."

That was a challenge. Not one to back down, I nodded, gaze firm onto his cocky one, "Alright then. Go ahead and try."

He didn't say a word, but the moment his eyes began to glow, I began undressing without even being able to attempt to freeze my movements. I threw my gown on the ground before stomping my foot, in only my undergarments, "This isn't fair!"

Sasuke smirked as he came to pick me up with ease, my legs wrapping around his hips. My back hit the wall and he teased, "Don't I usually do what you want anyway?"

I shook my head, "Um, no, actually. You're stubborn and annoying."

He snickered, "Funny. I'd say the same about you." I glared at him, but he simply kissed me, pressing his body sensually into mine.

~

The rest of the week went by in a tense blur. I avoided Madara at every chance. It almost feels like how it was after we were rescued from Oto and I wasn't sure if he'd attack me or not given that he got the chance to get me alone. Only the method of attack would be different this time around.

Once everyone deemed it safe enough to leave, Sasuke and I made it known that we intend to go to Suna. Fugaku initially didn't like it because he didn't want any of us separated just in case Amegakure's trying something underhanded by waiting longer to attack, but when Sasuke explained who we're trying to find, the king reluctantly obeyed. We didn't outright tell him we're trying to find a way to render Madara's being my master useless, but instead said we're trying to find the person so I can learn to control my powers and be a better asset should danger come Konoha's way.

The next day, we packed and loaded our luggage into a car and almost successfully left without issue around noon, but alas, Madara then came out with a suitcase of his own. Knowing he's more likely to retaliate if Sasuke mouths off rather than me, I put my hand on my hip, "What do you think you're doing?"

The man smiled, "I have business in Suna that I wasn't able to finish last time so I figured I'd hitch a ride with you two."

I glared, "Drive your own car."

He tutted at me, "No. Now get in."

Sasuke and I shared an irritated look before reluctantly obeying, both sitting in the back seat rather than up with him. I hope he feels like a chauffeur and it bothers the hell out of him. For now at least, Madara insinuated that he's not going to harm Sasuke for my sake and that's the only reason he and I didn't argue harder for him to leave us alone.

For the first few hours of driving, it was relatively silent minus Madara saying a couple things to me and me ignoring him. "Are you anxious to visit Suna again when last time went so horribly?"

That loosened my tongue. I'm angry that he's coming with us at all, I'm annoyed that he won't shut up, and I'm feeling cramped because we haven't stopped yet since leaving Konoha, so my tone was quite snarky, "At least if I die this time I won't have to deal with you anymore."

Madara chuckled, glancing at me in the rearview mirror, "That hurts."

I rolled my eyes, leaning over to lay my head in Sasuke's lap. He absently brushed my hair out of my face, gaze unfocused out the window.

"Will you partake in the local culture? I'll gladly join you if so."

"Uncle, that's enough."

My eyes shot open and the car got silent for a very long few moments before I suddenly got an awful feeling, like we're all three in danger, and sat up straight, "Madara, get off the road."

He looked at me in the mirror again, "What?"

I looked around outside the windows. We've been driving for nearly four hours now so it's just an hour or so before sunset and the sky is clear. There's nothing, that I can see, around. Just the road surrounded by vast forest on either side. Still, my senses are going off like crazy.

"I'm serious, get off the road now!"

The older Uchiha man seemed hesitant, "What's wrong?"

Sirens began going off inside me like we're all going to die if I don't do something now. I unclicked my seatbelt and climbed over the seat so I could wrestle the steering wheel to the side, "Hey, Sakura, what the-!"

The moment we veered off the road, multiple explosions went off among it. They weren't massive, but they'd have been enough to make this vehicle a metal cage, leaving us trapped for our attackers to come finish the job. The front end hit a thick tree and I fell forward into the front seat, Madara swiftly grabbing onto my hip so I wouldn't be thrown roughly against the dash.

Rather than panic that he'd laid hands on me, I sat up, instincts still telling me we need to move, "Get out! Get out and run, someone's coming!"

Thankfully, both men listened this time around and we took off into the forest. More bombs went off behind us as we ran for multiple minutes until we found a well-hidden cave and hurried inside to hide. All three of us panting for breath, we tried to catch it as quietly as possible as we listened for any signs of life outside the cave.

Slowly, my sixth sense calmed down until I was pretty sure we were out of immediate danger. "I think we're okay for now," I whispered.

"What the hell was all that?" Madara hissed.

I shook my head, frowning as I crouched low by the entrance, listening carefully for any movements, "I don't know. It was like my body could tell there was danger, but not exactly what it was."

Sasuke spoke in a low voice, "We should lay low for a while to be sure they're gone." Madara and I both nodded wordlessly.

If we knew exactly who or what was after us, we'd be able to gauge our likelihood of success in facing them head on, but we don't even know if it's a single enemy after us or multiple. The safest plan is to somehow make it to Suna, which is closer than Konoha at this point, to gather reinforcements before circling back to investigate.

Maybe half an hour later, we cautiously ventured out, sticking low and close to the trees in case we need to dive for cover.

The three of us continued traveling for multiple hours before Madara broke the tense silence, "I think we'll hit the desert by morning."

I shushed him and gave a glare, to which he responded with a similar expression, "You're really testing my patience with your lapses in judgment today."

My jaw dropped in disbelief, "And you're testing my patience with your presence in general."

His eyes began blazing red and he stopped walking to face me. I felt my own flare up as I mirrored his posture, Sasuke standing beside me with an irritated expression. "I won't hesitate to remind you why you should behave if that's what it takes for you to remember your manners."

That's right. Madara's a proud man who enjoys being both feared and admired above all else. My rage kept building, making it harder for me to see straight and keep my wits about me.

I took a step closer to him, eyes burning a wild hot glare into his, "Go ahead. Show us all how strong and heartless you are. See if I-"

I froze, cutting off mid-sentence as the alarms from earlier began ringing inside me again. My eyes darted around like crazy, searching for the source of the danger. Both men seemed to realize what was happening and waited attentively for me to say something.

In a snap, my instincts told me it was coming from behind Madara and I reached up in an attempt to pull him out of the way, but was too slow and vines shot through his stomach and then through mine as well, blood splattering about. A choked sound left my lips as I stared at him wide-eyed.