Chapter 20

Sasuke ripped the thick plant apart between the two of us, Madara turning to pull the rest out from behind him, and then we were on the run again. I stumbled, a hand to my bleeding sternum.

We didn't get far because Madara and I couldn't move nearly as fast with our very slowly-healing injuries before a familiar face suddenly appeared. "Zetsu? This is all Amegakure's doing?"

The odd-looking man's light side grinned almost excitedly, "Consider yourself lucky. I'll make it fast compared to others."

Sasuke tackled the strange vampire and fought for a moment before Zetsu bit into his arm, rendering it useless with his paralyzing venom. My disbelief fueled my rage when I saw the deep red color of Sasuke's blood, and then I wasn't in control of myself anymore. No, I was recklessly attacking the enemy with little regard for anything or anyone else. I don't know what Madara's doing, and I don't care.

All I want is to murder the man who hurt my love, to tear him limb from limb and drain him dry. Satisfaction coursed through me with each landed hit, whether it was him hurting me or the other way around. The violence made me happy.

"It's true, what Hidan said,'' Zetsu said as he blocked another hit and tried to put some distance between us, but I kept coming without relenting. "You're different, more than just a vampire."

A snarl slid past my teeth, and I finally caught up and sank my nails into his arm. With all my might, I slid to the ground and used my weight to bring him down. As we rolled about the tall greenery, we fought, nails drawing blood and trying to bite one another.

Finally, I gained the upper hand and bit into his neck on the dark side of his body. The taste was awful, the most disgusting thing I've ever had. I kept on, though, because I was too enraged to think properly about what was happening. The bones in my arms and shoulder were crushed as he fought against me, his teeth sinking into my forearm to begin paralyzing me, but I ignored all that too.

"Sakura, stop! It's poison!"

Someone suddenly grabbed me around the waist and all but threw me away from my prey. My back hit a tree, and I slid down, snapping out of my daze in surprise. It was Madara who threw me, and I watched as he held the weakened Zetsu down so Sasuke could tear the man's heart out.

Then I finally felt the pain from my injuries, my eyes tingling as they undoubtedly turned back to their usual green. I looked down to see the hole in my stomach was still very much open and bleeding heavily; both of my arms were damaged and bitten, and it also felt like something icy was making its way through my body, rendering me unable to move.

"We need to find somewhere to hide so we can bleed and feed her, or she's as good as dead." Sasuke glared as Madara picked me up but didn't say anything and simply followed him as he began running.

We found another cave, this one a bit bigger, and I was using every bit of my strength to stay conscious when Madara propped me up against a stone wall inside. He didn't bother saying anything to me but barked orders at Sasuke, who surprised me by immediately obeying, "Suck out as much blood as you can but don't swallow it. I'll feed her since yours is infected, too."

Sasuke bit into my forearm, over the mark Zetsu had left, and got a mouthful of blood before spitting it out and repeating the process. The look on Madara's face threw me off guard, but I couldn't do much to react as he bit into his wrist and forced it to my lips. On instinct, my teeth sank into his skin, and I squeezed my eyes closed as I drank from him, ashamed.

Slowly, over the course of the next five minutes, feeling returned to my body, and my many wounds healed. The ice in my veins turned into a wildfire, hot and uncontrollable. When both men stopped, Sasuke licking his bite marks away and Madara tearing his arm from my mouth, my eyes shot open, and I gritted my teeth when I realized both of their eyes were glowing, just like mine.

"T-This is…" Sasuke cut me off, "It's the bond at work." I searched his face, able to tell easily that it was taking him just as much energy as me to control himself from taking me right here, in front of his uncle and everything.

"It was either this or death, and I figured you want to live," the uncle in question said in a low, forced voice. Looking at his heated expression, I can tell there's no point in asking him to leave because it's not happening.

"Are you able to control yourself, Madara?" Sasuke surprised me by asking.

The older Uchiha man's eyes darted to him, narrowing, but he didn't respond. Sasuke continued, "I can take it away from her and you from me, but can you control yourself?" He repeated his question.

Madara's eyes shot back to my face, and his voice was raspy and inhuman, "I don't want to control it."

My eyes widened in shock, but Sasuke just moved to crouch in between his uncle and me, threatening his elder, "You won't force yourself on her." I bent my legs slowly, testing that my feeling had indeed returned.

"I won't be forcing anything. She wants me, and we all know it."

Angry and humiliated heat rose to my face, and I slowly stood, both men following suit, "Both of you, stop! It's not the time for this!"

"The only reason she feels a thing for you is your blood."

"How can any of us be sure of that now? And why does it matter anyway? We're both her master, so we must reach a compromise now rather than later."

The cave became terrifyingly silent, and I stepped around Sasuke so I could see both his and Madara's faces. The prince looked both enraged and unsure. Then, suddenly, all eyes were on me, and I got the sense that they wanted my input. I shook my head, "I love Sasuke."

The man in question seemed relieved to hear me defend my feelings for him before Madara but still frowned, "Love has nothing to do with this, unfortunately."

My brow raised in disbelief. What is he saying? Just the other day, in Amegakure, he seemed ready to murder his uncle for what he'd done, but now it's like he's almost willing to accept things as they are.

"Sasuke, what's-"

"He's right. It's in our DNA to accept these bonds no matter what emotions may exist outside of it."

Madara sounded a bit hurt but, thankfully, also seemed less angry. My eyes darted between the two handsome men as they turned their gazes onto one another, eyes narrowed hard but not quite in a glare.

A slight sound of disbelief came over me, and I crouched down, my hands in my hair, "This can't be happening…."

"Oh, come on, Sakura. You know we're right. Can you honestly say you don't feel it?" My glare shot up to Madara, but he was still staring Sasuke down.

I hesitated, deciding to be honest with myself for a moment. It didn't seriously affect me until I drank his blood in that alleyway in Amegakure, but it's been hard to ignore since then. I'm livid. I'm disgusted that such a twisted person has this kind of power over me, but it's true. Even if I don't love him, hell, I don't know if I even like him in the slightest because of everything he's done; my instincts tell me to protect him. They say to keep him safe, keep him happy, and keep the bond strong.

Tears welled in my eyes, and I shook my head, gazing at Sasuke desperately, "I-I can't accept it. I can't do something like that to you, Sasuke."

His red eyes bore into mine, brow furrowed. His expression tells me he's not eager to have this conversation, especially with his uncle present. Still, he made himself speak anyway, "As a man, I can't stand the thought of someone else…" his eyes danced angrily over to Madara as he trailed off before he turned them back onto me, "But as a vampire, I know you're mine regardless." My tears spilled over, but I was too stunned to wipe them away. "And I'm yours, so I'll let you decide. I won't be hurt or angry no matter what you choose."

God, the way he's speaking isn't necessarily out of character because I know this is how he always thinks, but he just never says everything out loud. His being so sincere and open only made the fire in my body flare up, and an aggravated sound rumbled through my chest.

My nails dug into my scalp as I growled, "Mentally, I don't want anything to do with him, but physically…." Madara didn't bother masking the almost hopeful lift in his expression, but Sasuke didn't react in the slightest.

I shook my head again, standing once more, "This is exactly what you wanted when you fed me your blood, isn't it?"

The elder's face fell into a scowl, "I did it because I wanted you to stay alive. Frankly, the fact that my nephew and I are also being affected is making me regret it."

For some reason, his words hurt me deeply, "You regret not letting me die?"

Red eyes widened in realization, and he shook his head, "That's not… What I mean is that I wasn't aware I'd have to share blood with Sasuke. I thought if you were turned, it'd be someone I could kill without a second thought, so I'd have the bond for myself."

The rage reboiled in my skin, and then I was shoving past Sasuke to try and hit Madara, who caught both of my hands with ease, "It was still your plan to force me into feeling this way for you, though! How could you do this, Madara? I thought after everything we've been through…."

Tears began slipping down my cheeks, surprising all three of us, and I stopped struggling and glared up at his stunned face, "You were just pretending to have changed all along, and I can't believe I actually fell for it."

His scowl neutralized.

"Don't feed me your blood again. I don't care if I die; I don't want to feel like this ever again."

Now's not the time to have a dramatic heart-to-heart like this, but I'm so damn mad and upset. It's taking everything in me not to lose control because it won't help anyone, and I can't kill him anyway.

No one said a word for a long time, but I eventually tore my hands out of his grasp and walked into Sasuke's arms, burying my face in his chest as I tried to get a grip on my emotions. He wordlessly accepted me, and even without looking up to verify, I knew he was staring Madara down in a silent warning to keep his distance.

Ten minutes later, the cave remained silent. However, Sasuke and I sat a few meters away from Madara because the heat and arousal still hadn't faded, and no one was communicating to try and figure out how to solve the issue.

The hand on top of mine suddenly wrapped around my wrist, pulling me closer to Sasuke's side. I allowed him, eyes burning into his red ones. Then, I realized he was wordlessly glowing me to remain silent.

My brow furrowed in confusion until the familiar crack of climax's whip shot up my insides, making my breath hitch and fists clench. Madara looked at us in surprise, but I was too preoccupied with the pleasure to focus on that and simply let Sasuke hold my gaze, eyes wide with disbelief.

Maybe thirty seconds passed before it faded, and my uncontrollable desire finally disappeared. I blinked, collapsing forward to rest my forehead against his shoulder as I panted for breath.

"What took you so long, Nephew?"

I squeezed my eyes closed more firmly, irritated that Madara dared to speak to either of us right now. His words make sense, though. It'll be easier for both of them to get it together if I'm not sitting between them with the lid on my arousal just barely in place.

Once I could catch my breath, I got to my feet and went to the mouth of the cave to check for nearby enemies. It's dark outside now. My body's clock is telling me we're nearing the time I usually go to sleep, but there's no way I'll be able to rest when I know for sure there's at least one more person trailing us. Zetsu didn't cause those explosions on the road; I'm almost sure of that.

"We need to get moving before we're discovered," I spoke softly, just loud enough that the other two could hear. Without a verbal response, they followed me into the forest, and then we began traveling toward Suna again.