"You did what?!" I shout in blazing anger at my sorry excuse of a boyfriend. His head is in his hands as tears started to fall from his face after explaining last night's latest gambling rampage.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what I was thinking... It looked like it the tables would turn and it would be a safe bet... but it didn't..."

The idiot had lost most of his pay check for the month gambling, again! This is the final straw. His bets are getting worse and worse, and he keeps losing. This happens every time he gets any money. When his grandfather died, he spent his entire inheritance gambling within a week. Recently, he's started a trend of losing all his money, then he'd start to bet with other valuables he owned. He'd lost his car last week, family jewellery the week before, and anything else he could possibly offer up of any value. He was addicted.

And this time, he'd bet me.

What the actual fuck!

He gave the winner an evening with me, alone, to do whatever they wanted. Because apparently just my company was not sufficient. If he or I didn't comply, then his life was on the line. There were powerful people in Konoha, and many were able to hire a ninja to oust anyone who didn't keep to their end of any terms.

"I can't believe this, you promised me you'd come straight home on payday this time. Now I have to pay the bills myself again this month. How many times do you have to do this?!"

"I'm sorry… I just can't stop. I'm addicted Sakura…"

Not able to look at him I storm into the kitchen to get to the fridge, I open it and grab a wine bottle and pour a large glass. I take a sip and I lean my head against the fridge door after closing it. I feel defeated, this has been going for half a year now and it's only getting worse.

I try to keep my voice calm, rage boiling within me. "I don't think I can keep doing this anymore, I think we should break up. Especially as I'm essentially having to cheat on you on Friday."

With despair in his eyes, he fell to his knees in front of me, desperation in his eyes as he stares into my ashen face. He was a pitiful mess.

"Sakura please don't do this! I love you! I promise I'll do better, next month I'll get better, I promise I will this time."

He said the same thing last month, and the month before.

"There'll be nothing between you two anyway so it won't be cheating, because you won't be into it." He tried to reason. He was trying to make out that this was all ok. How was he ok with all this?

I exhale a heavy, defeated sigh, I'm not good at confrontation or being the bad guy. I was always a pushover and determined to find the positives in every situation. The nature of my job at the hospital is literally to care for others and do everything I can to make it all better when they are unwell.

So he was unwell, and he needed me, he also just told me he loves me. It was the addiction that was the problem and not him. There must be something I can do. Still I feel drained, feeling pathetic, angry and empty at what was to come on Friday. I couldn't just give up on him, but did it all have to come to this?

Who was the lucky winner seeing me on Friday you may wonder? It was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. One of the greatest and controversial ninja to come from the Leaf Village. He was a close friend of mine once, but after leaving for Orochimaru all those years ago, I struggled to let him get any closer to me even after he returned and atoned for his actions.

It broke me when he left that night all those years ago. On his return after the war, he vowed with his life to protect the village to his best friend and now our Hokage, Naruto. Naruto has since forgiven him, and has been trying for a while now to get us three to be friends again, to have Team Seven reunited. I had loved Sasuke, even though it started as a childish infatuation, I grew to love him with a yearning I had never experienced since him. But what he'd done had broken my heart, I was determined to dislike him but I there was something, small deep inside me that kept hoping. He moved back into the Uchiha compound on returning, restoring not only the derelict building to its former glory, but his name as well.

He's been contributing in philanthropic work, as part of making amends to the Leaf Village. Including donating vast sums to the Chuunin Academy, opening new and state of the art departments at the hospital where I work and to funds to help the homeless and other charities. All this, with taking on missions as a ninja to protect the village and build relationships with our allies. Despite trepidation and scepticism from the village's population, over the years he has become increasingly popular due to his redeeming efforts. Not only that, but he has managed to become even more handsome as the years went by earning himself the whispers of the women of the village as the most eligible bachelor. Even I have to admit he is pretty hot. I find it strange how he hasn't gotten married yet or at least have a girlfriend by now, especially with so many women after him. But he doesn't seem to have taken interest in anyone where that was concerned.

We're good acquaintances now, I sometimes see him at various fairs and holiday events in the leaf village. He usually had a group of girls stalking him, giggling and vying for his attention. I try to avoid him where possible, but he always managed to corner me for a chat. As much as I try to avoid him, I always end up glad that he does in the end. We end up joking and laughing together, this more mature Sasuke was so much easier to talk to now than when we were younger, it was refreshing. But I had my heart broken once, I was not going to let that happen again.

Now I have to spend the evening alone with him on Friday night, doing God knows what. I knew that if I didn't go, my boyfriend would be seriously injured. As much of a Bakka as he was, I couldn't in all good conscience let that happen.

I had no choice but to agree.