Hey, hey hey! ( ^.^ )
Sasuke: -cracking knuckles- Another part I've been waiting for.
Indra: Hmph. How crude.
Sasuke: THE FUCK IS HE DOING HERE?!
-shrugs- Well, he is a great deal of this chap.
Indra: Mostly to annoy you Uchiha. I've seen your hatred, as well as the readers. -smirks-
Sasuke: You son of a—
OKAAYYYY, OKAYYYY! Trust me, you guys have enough to say to each other in this chap. Let's get on with it. (^.^ )''''
Sasuke and Indra: -grabbing each other's shirts already, glaring-
( O.O )...well...to the chap...and hopefully I survive this...
Sasuke and Indra glared each other down with their forearms locked in place. The two rivals, hateful of one another gazed maliciously into each other while Sasuke spitefully smirked.
They started trading blows, countering and blocking one another in a furious exchange of their fists and glares told everything they had to say to each other without words. Assessing and checking each other's speed and ability all the while holding nothing but malice for one other. Both men wanted to kill each other.
Over a single woman. All because of one single woman. One common woman had brought both the two powerful men to such a state, and she didn't even have the knowledge of it right now. It was actually terrifying to learn. The hatred, resentment and all out violence, brought from only the affections of a woman, without her own knowledge; Sakura was powerful. The woman had the hearts of both men, and both men could and would bring the world to its knees for her; especially each other.
Entire wars had been fought for women, and Indra supposed even in the twenty-first century and with this situation they were in, that was no different. Then again, while not often recorded as such, history was often truly made by women.
The men were always at the forefront, yes, but some bits of human history truly did come at the hands of the women behind the scenes. The terrifying part, however, was that Sakura wasn't actively pulling strings. She was the cause of this war between him and the Uchiha, all while having done nothing to start it herself, other than exist.
That was way too much power...and he could only foresee it growing further, as she stayed by Sasuke's side. Tonight, she would shape the history of the Uchiha and the Otsutsuki House, all while she was soundly asleep in bed. She didn't even know they were fighting each other and were willing to kill each other, right here, right now, over her.
Sasuke caught Indra's fist and as the bastard moved to swing the other, he dodged it, while giving a hard knee strike to his liver. Indra grunted, glaring as Sasuke took that advantage over him to kick him again. Indra blocked the second blow, throwing a punch to the Uchiha's abdomen, and then a hard backhand to put some distance between them. Sasuke didn't fall, although he felt all of the anger Indra lashed out at him with that one hit. It forced him to even take a few steps back, but he stayed standing.
And his very eyes promised retribution. For trying to take Sakura away from him. For lying to her for his benefit. For kissing her. For everything. He was going to make the bastard pay in as many ways as he could.
"My, my. Such violence, Otsutsuki. What ever for?" Sasuke mocked him vindictively, using Indra's own words from earlier to push his buttons as he turned his head back to him. Indra glared back.
"As if that needs an answer, Uchiha. You were the one who said it's a waste of time to ask questions you already know the answers to." Indra snarled back, his eyes narrowing at the arrogant and smug smirk on Sasuke's face.
"Humor me. I just want to know which part has you so angry. I deserve to know, after you've attacked me in the home you invited me to. Isn't that why you gave me the key? To 'come get her', right?" He antagonized, watching Indra glare back maliciously. And Sasuke's smirk grew into a side grin, at the look Indra was giving him right now. It confirmed the bastard certainly heard everything he wanted him to hear.
All the way down to Sakura screaming she was his.
And with that hateful look of absolute resentment, he wondered what Indra thought was going to happen. If he thought he was just going to take Sakura and go, when he left him alone with her, after three days that was a personal hell without her, the man was naive and stupid. Or Indra thought of him as a way more simple man than truly was. He must have really thought he understood him.
Either way, he miscalculated and Sasuke thought it was stupid, after how antagonistic the Otsutsuki had been on the phone earlier. He lost his mind with the man on the phone, did he think the night was just going to end there? Like he wasn't going to have his words with Sakura?
Stupid. Stupid, shortsighted, conniving asshole.
"Fine; let me guess. Was it her screaming my name? Was it the part where she said she loves me and only me? Or was it when she moaned she didn't love you? Were you there for that?" Sasuke snarled with a smirk still on his face. Indra glared more viciously at him with each question, dashing for him again. Sasuke threw his own punch and they caught each other's fist, glaring at each other face to face in a deadlock.
"Or was it simply just the fucking proof of what I told you? Is it the fact that you heard her say it herself? Was it when I made her scream, she's mine? Is it the fact that she's mine and always has been?!" Sasuke snarled, giving a hard kick to Indra's shin, causing him pain and for his leg to buckle. Sasuke took the advantage to kick Indra in his chest, hard enough to send him backward and for the Otsutsuki to lose his breath.
"Oh, please tell me you heard her begging for me." Sasuke continued, now grinning at him and running a hand through his hair, watching as Indra regained his breath.
He'd love that. He didn't even care if Indra heard the rest but he pleaded to the heavens the bastard at least heard that part.
He wasn't even inside her yet. That was just his fingers. It was because he stopped to take off the blazer she was clawing off herself, and from pure need of him, she begged for more. She begged him not to stop.
And he hoped the rival in love imagined it, just the way it happened. He hoped he imagined and saw Sakura's desperate moans and desire for him. He hoped Indra imagined the way she gripped and grabbed at him. He hoped that Indra imagined her clawing the scratches he had on his back, while moaning and screaming his name. He hoped he casted that very curse.
Everyday. He hoped Indra saw and thought of it every single day for the rest of his life. Whatever he heard, he hoped it stayed with him until the day he died and into the afterlife. After all, that's why he was talking like this.
The bastard did it first earlier, talking like he had Sakura entirely. Making him think and imagine them together; this was just revenge for that. Sasuke suddenly gave him a vengeful and malicious smirk, as he thought back to his and Sakura's reunion. He was far from done with the asshole.
He was just getting started.
"Spoiler alert; that was just me touching her." Sasuke elaborated, finding an opening, and Indra found his own. They both punched each other hard enough in the face, at the same time to stumble back from each other.
Both men slammed a steady foot on the ground to remain standing, and Sasuke couldn't help but snicker. He wiped his bottom lip, feeling a bit of a sting, only to see a bit of blood. The bastard's punch must have cut his lip but he could take comfort in the fact that Indra was wiping blood from his nostrils.
"In my house...in my bed, Uchiha?!" Indra seethed wrathfully, swinging at him again whilst Sasuke avoided and blocked his advances. He almost laughed at that. He was all too filled with guile and arrogance. The bastard was angry and Sasuke adored it, after all the lengths Indra had pushed him to. And he didn't care for it either.
He was honestly impressed with himself at this point. He was exhausted for sure, after everything with Sakura and not really sleeping for the last couple of days and he must have been so infuriated it kept him going. The pure, determined, hateful need to make the bastard pay, drove him limitlessly.
Hell, now he was sure he could carry her, in contrast to his earlier thoughts that he didn't have the strength to. That or it was just another effect Sakura had on him. There was no length he couldn't surpass because of her. There was nothing he couldn't do, if it involved her. She broke his limits. She made him limitless.
Either way, he and Indra were going to settle this. Indra brought this all upon himself and the fact that he was already paying for it like this was all too pleasing.
"What did you think was going to happen? Did you want me to just take her and go? Is that what you were expecting? You being unperceptive isn't my fault in the slightest." Sasuke vengefully proclaimed, smirking and making Indra's eyes glare even more harshly. Sasuke relished in Indra's aggravated ire.
"If you're expecting an apology, I'll tell you right now, you're not getting one. I missed her and, well, as I'm sure you heard; she missed me too. It couldn't be helped nor could it wait. After all…," He shrugged arrogantly, meeting Indra's glare with his own.
"It was everything she wanted." He spat acidically, remembering how Sakura called all of what happened nothing but a dream. Him, loving her was a dream to her, all the way down to it being everything she wanted.
And he watched as Indra's eyes filled with hateful resentment, as he realized how true that was. He watched the regret fill his eyes and he relished in Indra's current turmoil.
"I should have never let your lapdog go. I should have made sure you never found her again." Indra snarled, kicking him in the side, but Sasuke stood his ground. He remained standing, grabbing Indra's ankle in his arm and pulling him, to lose his standing. Indra glared, maneuvering to kick Sasuke with his available leg. Sasuke dodged it, letting go of Indra's leg, and they distanced from each other strategically.
Indra officially regretted everything he allowed to be set into motion. He officially regretted letting Suigetsu go without being guarded by his security for what he pulled. He regretted the fact that he thought it was for the best.
He selfishly regretted wanting Sakura to be happy. He regretted not being selfish and taking her away, despite her pain and sorrow.
Because she was going to be happy at this bastard's side. She wanted him and…
As he heard, she was his.
"Aaaaaaahhh! Mmmgh! Aah! Yours, Sasuke-kun! Hah! I'm yours! YOURS!"
And he hated the Uchiha for it, who just only scoffed at him just now.
"Don't be so down on yourself. There was nothing you could have done to stop me from getting her back. Whether you let Suigetsu go, or not. I was never going to stop, until I got her back. Whether you or some other bastard had her, I was always going to get her back!" Sasuke snarled, rushing and swinging at Indra again. He dodged and blocked, countering where he could only to be blocked by Sasuke as well.
"She was always going to come back to me!" He seethed, fighting the Otsutsuki furiously. He found an opening to grab Indra's hair and bring his face straight into his knee making the bastard stumble back and Sasuke let him gather himself.
Because he had a lot more that he wanted to say.
"You know, as much as you've pissed me off, I suppose I should thank you. I thought the worst had happened to her. I didn't know if Danzo had her or some other bastard like you who'd hurt her. I thought she was hurt or worse. And yet, she didn't have a single scratch or bruise on her." The Uchiha snarled furiously amused now. Indra glared and Sasuke dashed for him, himself.
"Trust me. I checked!" He seethed, and Sasuke threw his next punch before Indra could fully gather himself. The man stumbled around, towards one of the couches and Sasuke eyed the bar to the far right hand corner of the living room.
He could sure as hell use a drink after all this. Or ten. As Indra recovered and shook off the strong punch Sasuke gave him, the Uchiha walked over to the bar, eyeing the labels and the different spirits lined on it. He grabbed a short glass off the lower shelf, placing it down on the bar and chose a scotch whiskey to pour himself. He placed it down and turned to face Indra again.
"I'm grateful for that, at the very least; as much as I really, really don't want to be. Even if I can't stand the fact that she was in your arms, even though you tried to take her from me, I'm relieved she was not in the hands of my true enemies." Sasuke seethed to the hated rival vindictively and wrathfully.
"You took good care of her for me—in a way I sure as hell didn't like, but she's safe and unharmed and that's so much better than what I was imagining." Sasuke said, running a hand through his hair, with the relief he felt in that statement.
He wasn't happy she had been with Indra this whole time, but it was indeed better than her being in Danzo's clutches or someone else, as much as he didn't want to admit that. Indra didn't wish to harm her, per say. He was a selfish bastard who put Sakura and him through hell, but he didn't have ill will towards Sakura, necessarily. She was safe with him the entire time.
The only marks she had on her body were the ones he aggressively made with her in bed tonight.
And because of that, again, he wasn't done with the motherfucker. He blamed him for everything. He blamed him for wasting one of his fantasies. He blamed him for infuriating him to the degree where he hurt Sakura, uncontrollably.
He promised the bastard was going to pay for it.
"And having her gift wrapped for me so beautifully; I appreciated that as well. I've been losing my goddamn mind over her, so seeing her like that was a stress reliever. Red always compliments her; and the lace? Absolutely stunning—everything I've dreamed of." He haughtily and smugly described. Indra's eyes narrowed and Sasuke could tell the man couldn't help but think about it.
He noticed the slight twinge in Indra's eyes that indicated he had gotten under his rival's skin and the only thing that could please him more was Sakura herself.
And he couldn't help but relive some of his actions with Sakura. He was seeing his woman right now, with the way his eyes turned into smoldering, glossy onyxes. And Indra saw it. He noticed it, and went for Sasuke again.
But for him, Indra's movements seemed all too predictable. The man was moving in slow motion for him and he could practically see his next move. He dodged a swing, grabbing Indra's wrist and pulling him in for a harsh knee to the gut. Indra coughed, not able to gather himself before Sasuke grabbed him by the hair and tossed him to the ground.
Indra maneuvered to gather himself, standing a few feet away from Sasuke while he stared at him with his smirk still plastered on his lips.
"You look upset. Let me guess; you never got to see all of her?" Sasuke knowingly and smugly sneered. He knew it to be so, with how furious Indra was with him when he didn't even have the right to be. Sakura was telling the truth. The bastard didn't take those clothes off her and he was filled with relief once more.
Even if the bastard did touch her to some degree, he didn't touch her the same way he had, and he was relieved on that point. Indra went at him, blocking a punch from Sasuke, and landing his own.
"She was in gray." Indra snarled back.
"That so? So, she changed just for me, when she sensed me coming for her. I've never outright told her I liked her in red, but, she must've chosen it, just for me if she was indeed in gray before." Sasuke snickered almost pridefully.
"You bought her more ravishing clothes like that just for me to enjoy? You shouldn't have, Otsutsuki." He sneered, kicking the man hard enough, in his stomach, Indra couldn't help but cough and drop to his knees before him. Sasuke glared down, deciding to go back and grab his drink since he had the opportunity for it.
The Otsutsuki was going to need a breather from that one, and he wasn't finished with the bastard yet. He wanted the Otsutsuki to hear everything he had to say. He wanted to beat him within an inch of his life and he wanted the Otsutsuki to feel each and every single pain he was about to give him, consciously.
Indra shook his head, trying to fight off the pain in his stomach and the dizziness he felt. To be honest, between the blow Suigetsu landed on his head earlier, his fatigue and his anger, he wasn't sure if he could get the upper hand on the Uchiha, even if he was indeed keeping up with him. If the Uchiha managed to get tipsy and slipped up, maybe he could take control of the situation.
But that wasn't going to happen. Not with the furious Uchiha and how merciless he was right now.
"It's a shame though, really...I was too furious and too eager to appreciate it fully, before I ripped it off her." Sasuke stabbed vindictively, a smugness in his malevolent voice, drinking his glass and leaning his back against the bar to stare at Indra.
Indra watched his smirk grow in malevolence as he read through Indra's now envious and irritated glare, and the Otsutsuki knew the Uchiha wasn't going to falter or let up.
His rage wouldn't allow it and Indra saw it in Sasuke's eyes.
"But, it was still nice while it lasted. I'll have to buy her another one. Or something similar. I wonder, what else have you bought for me to enjoy?" He contemplated, swirling his glass and drinking. Indra pushed himself to stand.
"Tsk. You're that vulgar? If I had known you were going to do that to her, in the state she's in—" Indra snarled grudgingly and resentfully. Sasuke gave a glare, his humorous and amused state dropping straight into the depths of his ever divine wrath. Sasuke's flaring eyes glared at him, full of malice as he remembered everything he learned tonight.
"You mean the state she's in, because of you? Are you really chastising me for having my woman, after all the shit you pulled? After everything you've done?" Sasuke seethed angrily, cutting Indra off and his eyes burning with fury. The hold Sakura had over him started icing over, and his murderous intent began spewing from his very body. He placed his drink on the bar, ready to continue their fight after hearing that.
"I have done nothing but what she's asked of me." Indra snarled and Sasuke's teeth gritted with infuriated ire at that statement.
"Like, keeping her drunk, right? Keeping her out of public. Keeping me from finding her, while she was suffering for me. Anything to keep her here with you, right? Don't talk like you weren't trying to still take her from me, Indra." He interrogated, his hand squeezing on the glass in his hand and stopping himself from throwing it at the man. He wanted the drink and as much as it would satisfy him to smash the glass straight into the man's face, that'd have to wait.
At least until he was done with his liquor. Then again, there were plenty of other glasses so, he guessed it didn't matter.
"But did she ask you to lie to her about me? Did she ask you to take part in Karin's fucking setup? Did she ask you to break her heart and make her suffer over me?!" Sasuke yelled furiously, the wrath in his eyes burning even hotter than a thousand suns.
"That was her main grievance, you know. The thought I'd marry someone else and just leave her—just the thought another woman touched and kissed me and that I'd go on to touch and kiss another woman. That was her complaint. Just that. Just the fucking lie, you told her. You hissed in her ear, succeeded in getting into her head and combined with Karin, got your hands on her, like a fucking snake." Sasuke growled, glaring down into the liquid and taking his drink.
"You said you didn't blame me for taking the opportunity." Indra taunted and mocked with a scoff as Sasuke brought the glass of alcohol down from his lips.
"Don't get me wrong. No. I don't blame you for taking the opportunity…after having her in your bed, and with the way I feel, I would have done worse." Sasuke admitted coldly, staring down at the clear, brown liquid.
Because at this point, if he was in Indra's shoes and Indra was in his, he would have simply had the man killed. Sakura would never be able to go back to him again. She'd know there was no going back to the bastard because he was gone from this world.
With the way Sakura loved him, and with the way he loved her, it was what Indra should've done. He should've had him killed, if he wanted Sakura that badly, and if their roles had been reversed, it was exactly what he would've done. Hell, with the way she loved him, that probably wouldn't work either.
She got like this because she thought he'd leave her. He couldn't imagine what she'd do if he was gone from this world entirely.
And again, he didn't care how cruel it sounded. Even if Sakura herself moved on, even if wanted to leave him, even if she felt happier in the arms of another man, he truly didn't care. He would never allow anyone to have her, let alone some bastard who had to go to these lengths just for her. And it didn't even work. Her heart was still entirely his, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
And with that he deemed his selfishness was justified. If his possessive desires of her went in line with how she felt for him, then he was completely justified and within all rights.
"It's the way you did it, I really have a gripe with. How you kept her, drunk and suffering, with your lies and for your own selfish reasons. Reasons I fully understand and hell, they're reasons I sympathize with." Sasuke continued drinking again and his eyes lifted to Indra's, glaringly furious.
"But you did all that, while she cried for me. While she screamed for me. You hurt her. You made her scream in agony, didn't you!? She screamed for me, right before your veryeyes, didn't she!?" He yelled, slamming the glass harshly onto the bar so much so the bit of liquor still left in it spilled over the counter and his hand as he remembered his dream of her.
A dream he fully believed to be true, with Sakura's drunk recount and affirmation. A dream he almost was certain was true as Indra remained silent to the claim of her screaming.
He heard her scream like that—like never before and it was all Indra's fault.
"That's the state you're talking about? The state in which she told me you kissed her? You held her, as she suffered, and I'm vulgar to you?! When you were here, taking advantage of her being vulnerable? Of her agony? Even as she screamed!?" His yelling voice trembled.
"You're lucky I didn't decide to fuck her everywhere. I would have made you watch. How's that; for vulgar?" He seethed and Indra apparently had enough of listening. The man tried to rush him against the bar, but Sasuke maneuvered. They traded a series of blows, dodging and blocking each other until they grabbed each other's wrist and were locked again.
"How would you have done it then? Tell me, so I can be sure to do so." Indra challenged and Sasuke scoffed.
The man had no chance of getting near Sakura ever again, especially with him in the picture, so this question from him was nothing more than hypothetical. The bastard was upset with his own shortcomings and wanted to know how he went wrong.
And Sasuke was going to tell him.
"I would have killed you. I would have made sure she never was able to go back to you again. Even if she cried out for you in pain, there'd be no going back. And you'd watch from whatever afterlife awaits us when we're dead. That's what you should've done. You should have killed me when you had the chance." Sasuke prophesied all too knowingly.
Because that's exactly what he wanted to do now. He wanted to kill Indra, and he didn't care what happened next.
"But now, you can't, Otsutsuki. You lost your chance to kill me the moment she reached my arms again. She'll never be able to live without me, now. You kill me, and you'll also kill her, bastard." He proclaimed and Indra glared back knowingly, throwing more force into his blows.
Because he knew what Sasuke just said was true. With the way she sounded, and with the way she loved the Uchiha, there would be no saving her if the man died.
Like the Uchiha was implying; at this point, she might die with him.
The Uchiha was strong. He was a more formidable foe than Suigetsu and he should have been even more tired than the bodyguard was. Fueled on hate and fury for him, the Uchiha was sharper and even quicker than the white haired man who tracked him down here. He was getting stronger and faster with each moment. Was it the rage in his blood that was giving him this excessive strength?
Their fists connected to each other's face at the same time again, and Sasuke clenched his teeth.
That one made him a little dizzy and he definitely tore his stitches in his left hand again. That punch just now made him slightly black for a moment, but his body forced itself to stay standing. He wasn't going to lose.
He refused to lose. He wouldn't lose, not to the likes of this bastard.
He wouldn't lose to anyone, especially in a fight for Sakura.
"I could have gotten her to forget about you. Especially that first night. I should have." Indra angrily proclaimed and Sasuke's eyes glinted, having a feeling Indra had a lot more to say about that.
And he wanted to hear it. After all, Sakura most likely didn't remember that night. So, he wanted to hear what the bastard had to say.
He was going to let the bastard dig his own grave as much as he wanted to.
"Do enlighten me, bastard. You said you experienced first hand why I'm territorial over her. Does that have anything to do with that first night?" He interrogated coldly, his head tilting in dangerous curiosity.
And it was Indra's turn to smirk. All too resentful and envious of the Uchiha before him, he was now able to relive that memory for himself. A small comfort to having heard the Uchiha having his way with Sakura.
"She was quite invitational, that first night. She wanted to forget you, that badly, the moment I kissed her." Sasuke's eyes widened on him with an iron glare. From what Indra could read, that certainly, snatched the Uchiha off his high horse, just as he wanted.
"Invitational?" His voice seethed in question. Of course the Uchiha had to ask and Indra gave a haughty smirk, his eyes lifting to meet Sasuke's.
He could at least savor those memories. He could at least savor the numerous times he and Sakura kissed and hugged and to be honest, it was enough for him. And that first night, when she pulled him on top of her with that drunken induced intent. It was enough after all these years of regret and turmoil.
And Sasuke imagined it. He imagined Indra kissed her that night and she, in drunken stupor and wanting to forget everything about him…all the way down to his touch.
"What's wrong? Kiss me. Don't you want to? Those were her words, when I stopped it myself." Indra vengefully relayed and Sasuke's eyes widened with shock and fury, and his teeth gritted behind his lips.
Because he imagined Sakura's temptive voice saying it. He imagined she said it with her hands in Indra's hair and the bastard, obliging.
More. Love me more.
The same way she said that. He ran a hand through his hair.
'Goddamnit Sakura.' He thought begrudgingly, but not towards her. He didn't blame her for this mess. He didn't blame her for the Otsutsuki causing her so much pain she tried to forget his very existence.
He didn't blame her for running off, or even what the Otsutsuki was claiming. He already told himself and he already knew Sakura's answer earlier wasn't reliable. She said she didn't remember him touching her and only that they kissed. But hearing this was far more upsetting than he thought. The bastard was practically gloating about almost taking advantage of her drunken invitation and it pissed him off.
He was really going to have to kill the bastard over her. And goddamnit, it was going to be a hassle; killing a high profile man like Indra and getting away with it. It'd be different if it were some nobody, like the men at the Black Bull he had already enacted his rage upon—but Indra was part of the elite. His death would be looked into thoroughly and justice would be sought no matter what.
Even with his status. Even with his pull and ties to the police force, he might still be charged and all that. Not even he knew of the time he'd have to waste through that process and after just getting Sakura back, he wasn't too eager to have to spend more time away from her. Especially in jail where he wouldn't be able to reach her for some time.
He estimated quickly, he'd probably still get at least five to ten years in prison for Indra's murder, even with good behavior and that was not something he wanted to go through after this. After only being without her for three days, five or ten years would be inconceivable. Having her back was all he wanted, truly.
But now, he had to imagine Sakura, drunkenly kissing Indra, inviting him in bed, and the bastard obliging. And it was murderously infuriating.
So, goddamnit it all.
"So, you did touch her…" He seethed murderously, already killing the man with his eyes alone.
"I told you she has soft feet and legs. Just a touch of her curves is addictive. I had to force myself to stop, being on top of her. And be glad the only reason I did was because she was blind drunk." Indra gloated and Sasuke glared even more murderously.
On top of her? She had soft feet and legs? He kissed her and she invited him? And he stopped because she was blind drunk? Was he in between her legs? Had he stroked her legs and thighs while he was kissing her in that state?
He could only take solace in that Indra apparently stopped and that he had been extremely thorough with Sakura's body not too long ago.
And just like that, his concerns about doing time for the crime he was about to commit flew out the window. Oh well. It can't be helped. He already decided the bastard had to die, so he'd just have to deal with the rest when the time came to deal with it.
A murderous smirk scoffed onto Sasuke's face. He snickered in malevolent amusement.
"So in other words…the only way she wanted you was blind drunk and in pain." He chuckled and confirmed for himself, wiping the smirk off Indra's face, as his chuckles continued.
"She only wanted you because she was suffering over me. Because she wanted to forget me, thanks to you, and your plots." He continued, sniggering and grinning almost like a madman and Indra felt his aura of malice increase a thousand fold. It made the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end and he got defensive.
"You almost took advantage of her, like the opportunistic bastard you are. With her in that state. That's what you're telling me?" He now growled, his voice still humored and amused.
"I'm not just going to tear you apart like Suigetsu said…," He chuckled and ran a hand down his face and sighed as his sniggering had ended. Sasuke's murderous eyes opened, glinting with pure malice, his amusement gone, as they glared into Indra's. Those dark eyes of his were flaring with the fires of hell.
And his frowning lips stated, very simply and factually, without a single doubt;
"...I'm gonna fucking kill you, Otsutsuki."
And he wasted no more time. Be it his rage or just the hateful determination he had to do what he claimed he would, Indra was taken aback by Sasuke's sudden burst of speed. Indra was fast and at first, trading blows with the Uchiha, they seemed pretty even. Maybe the Uchiha had a sudden burst of adrenaline from his wrath, or be it the man had truly snapped, but he moved faster than Indra could fully react.
He flinched back reactively but it was no use.
His hand was already wrapped around the Otsutsuki's neck, and was next throwing the bastard back on the ground with a trip of his leg, not unsimilar to the way Indra did to Suigetsu earlier, as if karma was finally taking its course. Sasuke slammed a knee on Indra's stomach with force, pinning him with his iron grip around his windpipe. Indra coughed, caught off guard.
His grip, born from his malice for the bastard, made Indra choke, and his eyes widened, while Sasuke stared down at him with targeted hatred. His hand squeezing tighter around Indra's throat, the man met his murderous gaze and Sasuke could only remember Sakura's words.
"I can't stop seeing you and her! In that closet...I-It's...It's maddening!"
The man could have done anything else. He could have made any other transgression against him and he could have gotten away with it—but this. This was not going to be let go of for even a second. He absolutely refused it, especially with all the manipulation and the lies that the bastard had placed in Sakura's mind. After hurting her and him like this.
"It hurts! Everything...hurts!"
Especially because he hurt Sakura. He didn't physically hurt her, but he did hurt her. And with the way he did it, he was going to take his life; to hell with the repercussions and the consequences.
The man had finally pushed him past his breaking point. After everything Indra had done; for tearing him and Sakura apart, for touching her, for all of it, Sasuke could only feel the need to kill him now. Indra looked back to him from his thrown head, blood coming from the corner of his lip.
"You know what's another thing I've learned throughout all this? I've been too tolerant. I've held back so much restraint for the sake of composure, and I've even been too lenient. I've been too fucking civil. All the way to the point where the woman I love doubted her place at my side when she never had to." He growled acidically to the man in his grasp. Indra reactively grabbed his wrist, glaring with alarm into Sasuke's murderously blank eyes.
And he remembered Sakura's very soul crying out to him and for him. He remembered her cries and screamed complaints. He remembered her moaned ones and everything she shouldn't have ever needed to say with their love and the way it existed for them both.
And it was all thanks to Karin, and the bastard he finally had in his grip. With that and still holding Indra's neck he threw his entire weight into a punch on him that threw the man's head to the side and even dazed him.
That one was for Sakura. The rest would be for his own satisfaction.
And he threw another punch the same way, before he got off Indra and walked away to recollect his spilled and unfinished drink, before pouring himself another, since the bastard was taking his time to collect himself and stand.
Because, again, he didn't want to kill him too quickly. No, the bastard wasn't going to get off with being strangled to death. Death would be mercy and he would not give the Otsutsuki that relief. Not after all this. After everything he learned tonight, the bastard wasn't going to get off without payment. He wasn't going to go scot free. Not before he broke his bones and heard the bastard scream.
Especially his hands. Hands that touched what was his; hands he should cut off for doing so.
And place on his goddamn mantle, like Suigetsu suggested with his head.
And that was now being contemplated as Sasuke took another hard drink of his glass. He took the chug, and turned, watching the man slowly get to his hands and knees and Sasuke glared mercilessly.
"You were right, you know. What you said about not using my power and everything at my disposal to prevent losing her; you were absolutely right. I realize that now." He spat, placing his drink down and approaching the rival, before giving a harsh kick to his face, throwing his rival onto his back mercilessly.
"If I never tolerated Karin, if I wasn't so lenient, long before I met Sakura, she would have never had the chance to do what she did. If I never gave you civility, that day would have never happened in the first place." Sasuke seethed.
"If I had never let Sakura go that day, if I done everything in my power, you would have never had the fucking opportunity you found with Karin. You would have never got your filthy FUCKING HANDS ON HER!" He roared angrily, giving a kick to the man's abdomen. He stared down at the injured and pained man remorselessly, as he gripped his diaphragm. He heard something crack but Indra didn't give him the satisfaction of a pained scream.
So he cared little for it.
"And I'm done. I'm done with tolerating goddamn pests like you. I'm finished playing civil. Karin, you, everything has pushed me past my fucking limits. And I'm fucking done, playing human." Sasuke seethed as he repeatedly kicked at Indra's diaphragm with each enunciation in his statements. He gave a stomp onto Indra's left wrist beneath his shiny dress shoes, making him yell out in pain as Sasuke pressed down on the limb.
And their eyes met, Indra's glaring painfully and Sasuke's glaring mercilessly.
"I said I'd have your head. I told you; we end this, tonight. And I meant for good. You should have just ran like I told you to." He growled between his gritted teeth, and added all the more pressure to Indra's wrist, before the man grabbed his ankle with his other hand and pulled Sasuke from under himself. He caught himself, somewhat, only for Indra to drag and hurry himself on top of him.
"And you were right, as well. I should have killed you, while I had the chance, Uchiha." Indra spat, clutching his fist and raising it. Sasuke's teeth gritted, punching him straight in Indra's chin, knocking him off.
But before Sasuke could go for him again, he was grabbed and pushed away. In between them now stood a purple haired woman, and he glared at her angrily.
"Enough! Please!" A woman's voice screamed.
"Migi! I told you not to interfere!" Indra seethed, standing while Migi remained in between the distanced men, as Sasuke stood as well.
Indra told her the Uchiha would be here. He told her to drop off the key to the receptionist in the lobby for Sasuke Uchiha to come here and that she'd stay in quarters no matter what. But upon hearing that the Uchiha would be here, she took it upon herself to come and find out why.
She had only come in to hear the final two declarations between the men and upon the malicious words they said to each other, she instantly knew she had to intervene.
"Forgive me, Young Master Indra. I had no choice but to disobey a direct order." She apologized, staring at the Uchiha on guard. She was glad she did. The two sounded like they hated each other and when she saw how they were about to go after each other, she had to stop it.
Sasuke glared at her, remembering Karin said that name and noting the way she addressed Indra. Suigetsu fought with her on his way to get Sakura, right?
And now she was getting in his way. She was preventing him from killing the man he promised he'd kill and he didn't have the tolerance or patience for it. She may be nothing but a servant, but as he already told Indra, he was done tolerating anything or anyone trying to get in between him and Sakura.
That included an ignorant, irrelevant servant.
"Move."
It was a single and simple word, snarled with so much venom, the Head Maid suddenly felt mortally ill, although she hid it well. Migi stood her ground in front of Indra, instinctively bowing her head to Sasuke out of pure appeasement. Besides, the unsaid and perfectly communicated, alternative option was not inviting.
"Lose your life, or move." The Uchiha had said through his eyes alone and Migi had enough courage and devotion to Indra to still remain defensively in front of him. Sasuke Uchiha saw nothing but an obstacle in his way. A vile, insolent, disrespecting vermin that dared to step in his path when he was in front of his target.
In all her years of service, she had never seen such eyes of scorn and damnation. She had done things in life, and had gone toe to toe with seasoned killers and none of them shared the same chilling gaze Sasuke's dark eyes had; steeled onyxes with cold a wrath that promised to end the life of even a simple servant.
And she remembered a conversation between herself and Hagoromo a long time ago.
"You can see it in their eyes, Migi. Wicked Eye Fugaku; the reason he has that nickname in our world is not a jest, nor a red herring. It is because his eyes themselves hold a power to tear a man's soul to shreds, with just one look. It is even unintentional sometimes." Hagoromo spoke, swirling his wine.
Migi stood at her Master's side in the study, facing the fireplace, while the Master of the Otsutsuki House sat in the comfortable chair. But his face, was that of extreme discomfort in regards to the man he was talking about.
"Fugaku's children, with all their innocence now, will grow to be just as ruthless and powerful. There's no doubt in my mind of it."
"Even so sir, isn't the mother of common blood? I hear she does not have the same ferocity and prestige as Fugaku. Why should we be wary of his heirs?" Migi still questioned, not understanding what Hagoromo was saying. The older man closed his eyes for composure.
"Mikoto was a singer, indeed of common blood. One night, Fugaku discovered her and fell for her beauty. After their union, he became even more ruthless than before. After the birth of his sons, his behavior was multiplied tenfold. He was near untouchable, even by the Otsutsuki." The figurehead of the Otsutsuki household drank his wine and stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace.
"And his brother is a demonstration of what happens when their wrath has been provoked and pushed." Migi's brow furrowed.
"You believe his sons will be the same?" Hagoromo drank again for a moment and closed his eyes.
"They share their mother's beauty. But there is no doubt about it, they have their father's eyes. They have the blood of the Uchiha. And when they are of age, when they receive their inheritance, they will be forces to be reckoned with as well, if one is not careful." The maid gave an look of wary disbelief back then.
'I thought you were exaggerating, Hagoromo-sama…' She thought with wariness. Migi had never met Fugaku face to face. He passed before she had the chance to and that was when they had that conversation.
Staring into the eyes of who was supposed to be the youngest of Fugaku's children, she had grossly erred in believing it was a false hyperbole. She thought those so-called "wicked eyes" were exaggerations; a coward's tale that even her own Master had fallen for.
She was obviously wrong. She didn't perceive the Uchiha could ever have such dangerous ferocity. They were usually civil and docile in her opinion, considering their status among the elite was a long time standing and as far as she knew, Sasuke Uchiha was nothing more than a young man who did not have the same consciousness as his father.
The Uchiha's were private and were not one's to be the center of attention despite that they could be. Solitary creatures, who didn't bother anyone else in their status and prestige.
Unprovoked; it would seem.
"Forgive me, Uchiha-sama. With insolence, I must refuse your command. As Head Maid to the Otsutsuki Estate, I must ensure the safety of all prime members of the Otsutsuki Family." She responded respectfully and Sasuke's head tilted and his eyes narrowed. The eyes of a demon were currently glaring at her, scorned and merciless and she had no choice but to stare back.
And she remembered the ending of that conversation with her Master.
"Compromise and cooperation, Migi. It is the only way to deal with the Uchiha. If there is ever any trouble, between the House of Uchiha and the House of Otsutsuki…for the sake of our House, there can only be compromise and appeasement."
And with the the fact that the man before her, the youngest, was actively trying to murder a primary member of the Otsutsuki House like this, she now didn't doubt it. The man could kill with his glare alone if that was possible. She now saw what Hagoromo was so concerned over.
And as a servant of the elite, there was the unspoken but known rule that a servant dare not mean harm to anyone of status like Indra or Sasuke. It was the law, even if there was a quarrel like there obviously was between him and Indra. Hell, her grabbing and shoving him alone was an infraction, even if she did it to stop the murderous fight between the two men.
The danger she sensed did not allow her to take her eyes off him for even a moment. She sensed his bloodlust. His dark eyes seemed to glow with the fires of hell itself. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and she imagined, or maybe even hallucinated, that his eyes turned into glowing crimson irises. Demonic orbs that could control and manipulate the mind and soul.
Was this really at the level of the previous Uchiha patriarch? Was this what Hagoromo feared about them? The Uchiha had no qualms at all threatening the Otsutsuki's life. A life that should have made him bow his head with respect and courtesy. And yet, he obviously held nothing back in his fight against the Otsutsuki.
"You're the one Suigetsu fought...a servant, standing in my way?" He seethed, glaring at the woman with both appalled wrath and disgust.
It wasn't her that put Suigetsu in the hospital, but she fought with him. She tried to be a barrier in getting Sakura back and he wondered just how much of an accomplice Indra made her. It was her who tended to Sakura these last few days, right? Was she here when Sakura screamed for him as well?
If she was, he deemed she was just as guilty as Indra. Even if she was just following orders. She was guilty by association.
"I beg your pardon, Uchiha-sama?" She questioned for elaboration, remaining wary and cautious of him.
"White hair, probably was a cocky bastard during his fight with you. But it wasn't you who put him in the hospital, am I right? That was Indra's doing." Sasuke elaborated and Migi stiffened.
"He's your employee, Uchiha-sama? Is that the reason you're here?" She questioned and Sasuke scoffed.
Absolutely not. He really didn't and couldn't give two shits about Suigetsu right now.
She remembered thinking the man was quite skilled, but now she understood the gravity of why and how he was so skilled. Could it be he got word of his injuries and was here because of that? No. It seemed much more serious than that, but either way she would try to appease the Uchiha, as she had been instructed.
"Migi, what are you—" Indra was about to scold her only for her to speak.
"We can pay any hospital fees and his salary for however long he will be out of—"
"No. I'm here for my woman." Sasuke furiously seethed, glaring at her maliciously now and she flinched. She remembered Suigetsu's words.
That woman is not his. She never has been.
And she realized the name Sakura would sometimes say in her sleep. The name she screamed out in anguish when she wanted to leave.
Sasuke-kun.
As in Sasuke Uchiha.
Migi tensed, now starting to get a gist of the situation. And although she sympathized with her Young Master, and him having the woman he had been searching for after all these years, it was asinine. To steal a Lady of the Uchiha was unprecedented, as she was aware that the men held their partners closely. It was like stealing treasure from the Uchiha.
Especially if Indra knew, and that meant they might be going to war. She had to diffuse the situation. For the sake of their House, as Hagoromo had instructed her, she had to find a way to appease and compensate the Uchiha, now.
"And none of that will be required. There's nothing I want from the Otsutsuki, other than my woman. And you will want nothing to do with me or for me, after I kill your Young Master." Sasuke spat venomously. Migi tensed.
"Not even you have that much power. The Otsutsuki's will prosecute and—"
"And I don't give a damn. Your Master tried to steal from me. And one of the very first rules of my House is that no one steals from me. And when or if someone has the balls to do so, I take it back and seek compensation." Sasuke cut off the maid, and gave a challenging glare.
"And for stealing my woman…I've decided the only compensation I want is his life." He seethed. Indra finally stood, gaining Sasuke's glare again.
"But not before I beat him within an inch of it, first. Not before I break his hands and hear him scream." Sasuke snarled, and Migi was pushed to the side by Indra.
"Try it, Uchiha." Indra scowled, approaching him. The two men grabbed each other by their collars.
"I was about to before we were interrupted." He seethed back.
"Please, stop this! Young Master Indra…Uchiha-sama!" Migi tried to intervene only to be ignored.
Migi watched warily, seeing the ferocity and anger between the two men as they ignored her. They weren't going to stop until one of them felled the other and from there it just be a murder scene.
And with Indra being more heavily injured currently, while he was indeed holding his ground, he wasn't winning. He had his fight with the named Suigetsu before, and it looked like he wasn't able to keep up fully with the enraged Uchiha. If he continued on any longer, the Uchiha would kill him right before her very eyes.
She had to stop this. She had to before a war between Houses inevitably started and she saw only one solution to it. Only one person could get both of them to stop and she could only hope it would stop the Uchiha most specifically.
He said it himself; there was only one thing he wanted from the Otsutsuki's.
With that and with utmost urgency, she dashed across the living room towards the stairway.
And Sasuke noticed with a glare before Indra socked him in the stomach and he gave a hard punch to the man's temple, dazing him. He grabbed Indra's collar to pull him in for another punch, only for both their eyes snapped to her and for both of them to freeze, when she purposely yelled out and ascended the stairs.
"Lady Sakura! Lady Sakura!" She called and Sasuke's glaring eyes widened wrathfully. His head whipped over to her, only to already see her nearing the gray marble stairs.
No. She was going to wake Sakura. She was going to pull her out of her dreams of him and he couldn't allow that. She was only supposed to wake up in his arms and only in his arms. He promised her that.
Not to the godforsaken maid of his most hated rival.
Not to this!
He shoved his hold on Indra away, already moving to go after her. Migi already having the head start on both of them, she was already upstairs with Sasuke chasing after her.
"Migi, stop!" Indra called, chasing behind Sasuke.
But they were both too late. By the time Sasuke got to where she was, even with his speed, Migi was already shaking her, pleading with her to wake up and to wake up quickly. Sakura was groaning and clutching his blazer still, turning to be on her back as her face scrunched and stirred.
He watched with wide eyed rage and horror as her hands slid out from beneath the blazer she had been holding, raising over herself and starting to stretch. She moaned out as her body itself moved, stretched and arched, still covered partially by the sheet he wrapped around her. Sasuke's teeth gritted as he rushed and threw the maid away from her onto the floor carelessly and recklessly.
He glared at her furiously. Migi tensed as she felt his fury adjust itself appropriately from everything he felt with Indra to her.
Simply because she touched and bothered what was his.
"How dare you—" He snarled, his hands clenching into trembling fists.
And she was only saved by Sakura moaning and shifting. The still slumbering woman, doing just that, made his entire body pause and his head shifted hastily to her instantly. He stared at her with a glare still in his eyes, that now became conflicted and turmoiled.
His wrath was fighting against his love for her just as Migi had hoped for.
"...If you won't spare Young Master Indra for anything else, please…spare him for her. You'll lose her, somehow, someway, if you kill Young Master Indra. If you both don't end this..." She pleaded quietly. Sasuke's glare shifted back down to the woman, as she stood and kept her head down.
The maid was forcing him to choose. Choose between the woman he loved and the man he officially hated with a burning passion that flared hotter than the sun. Standing in this room like this, in between Indra and Sakura, it was the ultimate ultimatum for him and he could only glare at the audacity the maid had.
Either he killed Indra the way he wanted, or he had Sakura and lived with it all. She was using his love for Sakura to the Otsutsuki's godforsaken advantage.
Was every member of the Otsutsuki House a conniving asshole? Even the servants were cunning snakes?
He snapped his gaze back over to her when he heard her give a tired whimper. She only groaned in tired irritation and stupor, and Sasuke's hands clenched into trembling fists as her hands went to rub her eyes.
She didn't even know what was going on right now and Sasuke didn't want to cause her any more stress and strife. He didn't want her to wake up like this. She was supposed to wake up in his arms. She was supposed to wake up to being loved by him and nothing more. He promised her that.
His body moved, almost helplessly and instantly to her, quickly sitting beside her waist and caressing her face with one hand with the other forearm planted on the bed, on the other side of her. Hovering over her like this, he stared into her eyes and he watched her eyes open just a bit more as she removed her hands from them.
And he thanked the heavens that it appeared he had moved fast enough. Sakura didn't appear to hear or take notice of Migi either, even though it was the woman who woke her. Or maybe she was too exhausted to really take notice of who it was waking her.
Because her tired, teary eyes and her voice only acknowledged him.
And Indra silently watched from the doorway, numbly and painfully as Sakura reacted to the man in her sights.
"Sasuke-kun…?" She whimpered out to him and the said man brushed his nose against hers. He hushed her comfortingly, continuing his affectionate gestures against her. He kissed at her neck gently, hoping to soothe her back into her siesta. She only moaned tiredly and appreciatively, already closing her eyes and moving to give him more skin.
"It's okay, my love. I'm here. Go back to sleep." He told her tenderly against her, hoping he exhausted her enough to follow that command whilst he littered his kisses towards her cheek.
So that he could keep her dreams the way they were. Of him, and only him. Nothing else. Not of Indra. Not of Migi. Not of everything that happened. Just him, loving her as he did. That was supposed to be the only thing she had to care about. That was supposed to be the only thing on her mind, all the way until the moment she awoke in his arms tomorrow.
And he wasn't disappointed. As always, Sakura reacted in a way both expected and unexpected. The woman just did anything to make him forget about anything and everything else, and it happened as her arms wrapped around him, limply.
"Sasuke-kun…I love you…I love you..." She moaned that mantra he implanted into her, tiredly and repeatedly, as if reminding him of that absolute fact that had been tested and proven over and over again, shutting her eyes already and shuffling her nose against his. His eyes tendered, holding himself over her still as he couldn't stop from gently kissing her lips for a short moment and stroking her hair.
He even felt a bit relieved, because her saying that meant Migi's actions didn't just undo all the hard work he had put into tonight. She was still dreaming of him.
She could stay in her dreams of him until whatever time she woke up tomorrow. He hushed her soothingly again.
"I know…" He murmured lovingly to her, still brushing his nose affectionately against her. He littered her cheek lightly with kisses more, and gave a final one to her lips again as his own display of his love for her.
And then only his eyes shifted to glare at the open doorway where Indra stood. The man was watching the still half asleep Sakura, clutching onto Sasuke, while he comforted her back into slumber just by being near and within his arms. As his lips only brushed against hers now and the Uchiha's gaze burned.
"I know." He reaffirmed meaningfully, watching as Indra stared at them, an envious gaze still in his eyes. But the hated rival didn't do anything nor did he protest what was happening right now. Rather...and Sasuke wasn't sure if it was correct to believe, it seemed like Indra was accepting this. As if hearing and witnessing her love for him with his very eyes was finally enough for the bastard.
And maybe...just maybe, it could be enough for him too.
He gently and slowly slid Sakura's hands off him, much to her moaned disapproval, but in her state she couldn't do anything about it. He kissed both hands before softly laying them over stomach. And as he stared at her and stroked her hands, he made his choice. The choice Migi forced him into, with Sakura in his sights and filling his heart. Just her, telling him she loved him; his choice was both easily and heavily made.
Killing Indra...it wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth it. Indra wasn't worth being without her. No matter how badly he wanted to kill the bastard for touching her, and for everything he had done; Indra wasn't worth it. Nothing on this Earth was worth losing her in any way, shape or form.
Especially since he already had her back. He already reclaimed what was his a thousand times over, and then some. No matter what, Sakura was coming home with him.
What's more…he hadn't been thinking of her. He was so enraged by everything, he didn't even think of her and the aftermath of killing the man and how it would affect her. He only thought of it now, with her in his sights and within his grasp.
She loved and missed him through the three days of this mess. If he got put away, how much would she suffer? How much would she miss him? Would she even wait for him still, after it was revealed he was a killer? Could she forgive him for that? Could she even still love him, knowing the hands that touched her had taken a life? Even if he did it because of her?
Could she still feel safe in his arms, when his hands would be stained with the blood of a man who only tried to take her from him?
She said she didn't love Indra. She loved him, and only him; he knew that. But would she hate him if he killed the bastard? They had three days together and...even if she didn't love the other man, she most likely didn't hate him either. At least not right now.
Would she mourn for Indra? Would she cry and scream at him for having killed the man she knew and had history with? Would she hate him for it?
He remembered, Kakashi said she's not someone who just unloves those she did, either. If a part of her had cared for and loved Indra before, even though she said she didn't, it was probably still there as much as he didn't want to believe that. She'd be upset over his death.
And he wasn't sure...if she would ever look at him the same way ever again. Even though he knew she loved him to the same degree he loved her, he wasn't sure if she'd be able to withstand him taking a life with his very hands, and then touching and holding her with those same hands.
He couldn't put Sakura through that. He couldn't leave her to suffer or burden her with his sins, just because of his rage. It...It wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't be fair to her nor himself after he just got her back.
'God...damnit...Sakura.' He mentally growled again and sighed.
Annoying, damn woman. Damnable, annoying as hell woman, he loved so annoyingly, goddamn much.
Everything he did, he did for her and he was so annoyed that he could only make the unsatisfying choice to let that bastard live. That is what would be best for her. It was the only way he could keep his promises to her and stay by her side unless he had to go to work. It was the only way he could keep her at peace by his side and burden free.
Not killing the bastard the way he damn near needed to with the rage he still felt...was what was best for her and himself.
And he needed a goddamn drink for it.
With that, he fixed his blazer over her, thankful she was still mostly covered from Indra's sight. He lifted it, bringing it to cover chest a bit more before his hand stroked one of the territorial marks he had made on her neck.
After laying a final kiss to her lips, he stood and shifted his glare to Migi.
"If you touch her or wake her again, I won't hold back anymore." He warned the maid, promising her with just his eyes that he'd destroy the woman himself, if she touched Sakura again. Moreover, he was going to straight up kill Indra without reservation. With that warning, the Uchiha just admitted that despite all the ferocity of his fight with Indra, he was holding back.
Proving a current truce. For now.
With that the maid gave a bow.
"I understand, Uchiha-sama." She replied quietly and curtly. Giving her one last glare, he turned to go back downstairs for an all too needed drink.
His stride was honestly too calm for the storm of wrath brewed and still swirling inside him. Indra wasn't in the doorway anymore, and as he walked downstairs to grab a drink, Indra was there already pouring himself a glass.
And he watched as Indra silently sat on one of the couches. He poured himself one, and stayed leaning against the bar, because if he approached the man, he might attack him again anyway. And as he stared at the man and drank he could still only feel nothing but anger and hatred towards the man that tried to steal what was everything to him.
"...Be grateful to her for your life, Otsutsuki. Both to your maid, and Sakura. But know this; if you ever try something like this again...if you ever try taking her from me like this again, I will kill you." He spoke, breaking the still tense silence between them.
He better be. He better be thankful, because the only reason he wasn't going to kill him, for now, was because of her. Because right now, he didn't have a means of killing the Otsutsuki and getting away with it cleanly. Because he couldn't be without her for five to ten years when she loved him just as much as he loved her. Because he had her back and he promised he would never let her go again. Nothing was going to separate them again.
And because she proclaimed her love for him right before the bastard's very eyes.
He could always kill him later. When Sakura was unaware. When Sakura was over this mess and trauma the bastard had caused. When she didn't care about him at all anymore.
Indra glared back at him, before he scoffed and drank. He had one last card to pull on the Uchiha, and he was going to use it straight out of spite and his resentment for the Uchiha.
The Uchiha was going to hate it, so all the more reason to go for it.
"Aren't you forgetting something, Uchiha?" He questioned, swirling his glass absently. Sasuke glared at him.
"No. I'm pretty sure we've just about covered everything. We're done and I'm only sparing your godforsaken life because of Sakura. Because she needs me more than I need to kill you." He growled back, not liking the smug look that was now on Indra's face. And he really didn't like it, when the man smirked.
"So you did forget. You said you were grateful, Uchiha. That you supposed you should thank me, for taking good care of her for you." Indra reminded him and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"And it's because of me she's returned to you." Indra suddenly spoke, grabbing Sasuke's wrists. He watched shock come to Sasuke's eyes and then angered confusion.
"What the hell are you going on about?!" Sasuke growled.
What the hell did the asshole mean when he said that? Because of him? Indra didn't do jackshit, other than try to steal her from him, so what the fuck was the bastard going on about? What was he playing at? Indra composed himself.
"Use your head, Uchiha. We are of the same class. You should understand what I'm saying. You have been looking for her, right? You've gone nights without rest, using every resource to find her, right?" Indra pressed all too knowingly.
"Here she is, Uchiha. Safe and unharmed. Fed and clothed. I spent over twenty-five hundred dollars for extra clothes alone." The rival continued and Sasuke's glaring eyes widened more.
'...No...is he…' Sasuke was already throwing the pieces together. His angered confusion grew even more intense. His dark eyes widened even more, slowly catching on to what Indra was saying. What he was requesting...
And the bastard had some nerve, if this was going where Sasuke thought this was going.
Indra's smirk widened as Sasuke's eyes grew wild with rage. He may have lost Sakura. He admitted defeat there.
"I believe you owe me some actual gratitude, don't you?"
And he was going to make the Uchiha pay for it.
'Hell to the motherfucking no!' He couldn't be serious. The bastard he hated so damn much, could not be serious! Sasuke's hands started clenching into fists and they trembled.
"The Uchiha are not savages, despite being as ferocious as you are. You are grateful, aren't you?" Indra spoke smugly with a similar smile and an amused scoff. The Uchiha really had already figured it out. All that was left was where did they go from here. In another universe, Sasuke's eyes melted from their natural onyx to crimson red.
"After all of this, you really think I'll thank you?! Is letting you live not enough?!" Sasuke seethed venomously in retaliation. Indra shrugged all too indifferently.
Sasuke refused. He absolutely denied what the Otsutsuki was saying and even then, there was no escaping the truth, no matter how much he denied it. Indra did take care of her. She was safe, unharmed, and not in Danzo's grasp. He let Suigetsu go, knowing Sasuke would be right behind him the instant he heard word from the employee.
And he played right into it. And now—
"Not a thank you. But, after all, I did find her. I sheltered her, for you, didn't I? Wouldn't you say you owe me a debt?" Indra smirked again, saying the one word he knew Sasuke didn't want to hear and eyeing his even more furious gaze with amusement. If this were an animation and not real life, he imagined Sasuke would have been engulfed in literal flames of rage.
Especially because Indra trapped him there. The Uchiha, as dangerous and wrathful as they were; as demonic and vicious as they were…they always repaid their debts.
So, how much was Sakura's return worth? What was she worth to the man who had her heart, body, mind and soul?
'Fuck no! NO! Not to this bastard! I will not be indebted to—!' Sasuke continued to mentally fight and Indra saw right through it. With a smug smirk, Indra drank his glass of whiskey, with the satisfactory knowledge that this was his small win with his enormous loss.
"A debt for you stealing my woman?! Fuck you! After everything you've done—" Sasuke scowled, insulted and appalled beyond comprehension. The audacity of what he was requesting, after everything the bastard did, it was mind blowing. Indra scoffed.
"Oh? Does that mean she's worth nothing to the Uchiha? I allowed you to be reunited for nothing? How disappointing." He said, smirking directly at Sasuke who glaring at him like an enraged madman.
His hands were tied. Either he paid up or he was admitting that Sakura was not valued. In their class, those were the only definitions of him not paying his debt. Either he didn't have it—which, of course he did—or he admitted she wasn't valuable, as Indra suggested.
Neither was true and it enraged him more. Moreover, Indra would—out of spite—undoubtedly spread that rumor out. The bastard did it to Sakura with the contents of a meeting, he'd have no problem telling world about his rejection to his newfound debt.
The other Houses would know "the Uchiha did not hold Sakura to the highest of importance" and that sure as hell wasn't true. Worse, he wouldn't be able to get rid of such slander, even after he came out with her publicly. There would always be the little fact among them that while he was in debt for her, he "refused to pay" when he certainly had enough for it.
And it wouldn't just bring shame upon him and his House; it would bring shame on Sakura herself. She'd be looked upon as meaningless to him and he sure as hell was not going to allow for anyone to think such a thing. Not after this. Not after she told him her feelings about not feeling worthy enough to be with him, and not because of this asshole.
Especially because to him, she was priceless. She was invaluable. She was his everything, like he told her. He would have paid anything and everything to get her back. He would have paid any price, to have her in his arms again sooner than tonight. His riches, his houses and cars, Uchiha Corps itself; he would have rewarded it all to the person to give her back to him.
But, of all people, he had to pay the very bastard that stole her in the first place?!
In their prestigious class of society there had always been rules and then, there were the rules between men with Houses such as theirs. When one House did something for another, there was no escaping repaying the debt. Grudgingly enough, even if Indra did it in a way he despised, he was indebted to him for giving back the missing treasure of the Uchiha House he had been frantically searching for.
He found his lover and kept her safe, and as much as Sasuke didn't want to, he had to somehow repay Indra back for that...graciously. In a screwed up sense, he was indebted to Indra and he couldn't deny it, no matter how much he wanted to. He was indebted to the very man he hated more than anyone on this planet.
His hatred for Indra might have even surpassed his hatred for Danzo—and the man had tried to kill both him and Sakura. It was to a point where he wasn't even sure who he hated more.
"Allowed?! I was never going to stop looking for her! I already told you, I was always going to get her back! No matter what!" He argued furiously. And Indra smirked.
"And yet, you only got her back so soon after I intentionally let your lapdog free. I could've had him jailed over sending him to the hospital instead. I could have kept her longer. Trespassing. Breaking and entering. Assault. He even held a knife to my face, Uchiha. Did you know that?" Indra listed off and he watched the wrath on Sasuke's face almost become palpable.
The man's wires were absolutely crossed and probably short-circuited with all this. Being without his beloved after a quarrel, finding her with another man the way he had and now being indebted to that same man; the Uchiha was probably so livid, he couldn't even properly show it. The human body and face was not adequate enough to allow him to do so.
No; Indra inferred Sasuke's wrath right now was more closer to that of the Gods in myths and legends. World floods, the destruction of cities, apocalyptic planetary devastation, was more like it. Indra chuckled again, thinking that if the Uchiha could, he'd summon a meteor to hit him right now. Just his gaze alone would have made him spontaneously combust into the hottest flames, if the Uchiha had such power.
Maybe in another life.
"Hmm...I wonder; is she invaluable? Is she priceless? Is that why you wish to deny me some form of compensation? Is it possible for you to even pay for it, with wealth like ours?" Indra continued to smugly question almost knowingly, his smirk and obvious amusement at Sasuke's all too apparent mental breakdown. Sasuke grew even more irate before he drank his glass heavily, to take some edge off, not that it actually helped.
Fuck. With what she was worth to him, he might be in debt to the piece of shit for the rest of his fucking life.
'Goddamnit, Sakura!' He thought angrily.
Of course; leave it to her to be the one fucking reason he would ever be in debt, to anyone—for anything. Leave it to her to manage to do the im-fucking-possible, without even meaning to.
He ran his hand down his face and glared towards the heavens in a tired and stressed plea for strength and mercy.
'Is there anything else? Anything else she wants to fucking put me through? Anything at all? A fucking wall, perhaps?' He questioned the heavens irritably, so he could at least be prepared for it. The love of his life was officially a thorn in his side. He loved her so much, and oh; was he paying for it. From losing his mind to being in debt, he was so paying for it.
And because it was for her, he was going to pay for it. He was going to pay whatever he must, if it was for her. Be it with money or with his mind, and so far it looked like he was going to be paying with both.
He honestly would have preferred getting slammed through a wall. It would have been so much better—so much less excruciating, than all of this. It would have been quick, simple and straightforward. Sakura might've even stayed worriedly by his side in whatever hospital he had to be put in. Whatever broken bones and injuries he sustained from being put through a wall, he would have welcomed so much more than all of this.
For fuck's sake, she was asleep in bed, with no idea that she had just placed one of the wealthiest men on this Earth in debt. With all his wealth and power, there should never have been any reason for him to be in debt, ever, in his lifetime. If he could take his money with him after death, he'd still be affluent enough in the afterlife, with no debts.
Honestly, with how insane she drove him, he should have expected it to happen. He should have expected that she'd accidentally and unintentionally put him into debt, somehow.
And now, thanks to her, he seriously was in massive debt...to this asshole noless.
And it still wasn't even her fault.
Indra gave an amused and haughty smile towards the Uchiha, who was silent. As always, an enraged Uchiha was just the best you could read them and Sasuke was completely opposed to being indebted to him.
The moment passed and Sasuke's dark eyes returned to giving hateful glares.
"That changes nothing." Sasuke seethed coldly. Indra raised a smug eyebrow. The Uchiha said that and yet, he could already feel him backing off. He even grabbed his drink for a notably large—and probably very needed—swig. Indra's smirk grew and he couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for the rival no matter how much he hated the man.
"What she means to me doesn't change anything between us. None of that...changes anything between us, Otsutsuki." He shakingly growled again for reiteration. Indra drank to that. He wasn't going to outwardly admit he was in debt to the man for the rest of his life. Whatever Indra wanted from him, Sasuke hoped it would be a single request and nothing more. That's all he was even going to allow, so it better be a big ask.
Especially since, apparently, sparing the bastard's life wasn't enough. This was exactly why he tried his best to avoid confrontations with those of the Otsutsuki House. They always wanted something. They always had some kind of ulterior motive and it's why he never wanted Sakura to gain any kind of attention from them in the first place.
Only for her to already, coincidentally, know one.
"Of course not, Uchiha. Do not mistake my good deed as a friendly gesture. You know fully well, I did not let you find her because I wanted to." Indra proclaimed. Sasuke scowled.
"Then, why?"
"...Why what?" Indra asked for clarity. Sasuke gave a stern and harsh glare.
"Why give her back? Why would you? Obviously, you still want her. Like you said, you could have kept her longer—not that I was ever going to stop hunting you down. You have all the opportunity in the world and yet, like a fool, you're just giving it away. It doesn't make sense, especially after all the fucked up lengths you were willing to go just to have her." Sasuke cut straight to the point.
Indra stared at the man for a moment, before giving a disbelieving scoff.
"I agree...letting you have her is probably the most foolish thing I will have ever done and will ever do in my life. Well, it's not admittedly the most foolish thing I've done. That would be leaving her, all those years ago." Their eyes met, Indra's resentful and Sasuke's hateful. The two men stared each other down with their matching eyes, a tension in the air so thick, it was palpable.
"She'd be mine today, if I never left her back then. You would have never had a chance, Uchiha." He proclaimed vindictively and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
In an alternate timeline, if that had been the case; if he had met Sakura as Indra's woman, he would have acted just as underhandedly as Indra did. He would have done anything to steal her away, the same way Indra did.
And unlike Indra, he wouldn't give her back if he was successful. Like hell he would. Hell, he already said how he'd do it. He'd kill the bastard, and take a grieving Sakura into his arms; to hold and love her until her heart was eased of its mourning. If anyone ever wanted to take her from him after that, Sasuke officially deemed, they would have to kill him first.
Only over his rotting corpse was he going to allow her to be in the arms of another man. Anyone who wanted to take Sakura from him would have to pry her from his cold, dead hands. Hell, there was a high probability that even after he died, his soul wouldn't move on, and he'd haunt the bastards trying to get with her after.
Now that he thought about it, that probability just shot up to ninety-nine percent, the one percent being if there wasn't an afterlife. Better for them to think his woman was haunted by some violent poltergeist, than to have the knowledge of her being with them after his death. And now he had confirmation that even if he died long before Sakura, he wouldn't want her to move on. He'd prefer her to be alone for the rest of her life.
As miserable and selfish of a wish as that sounded, nothing would please him more. If it meant her heart would never belong to another, ever, then he was going to add that very wish to his final will.
Either they left her alone, or dealt with a pissed off Uchiha poltergeist that would always be watching over her.
Their call.
"Besides that, is the reason I'm returning her to you not obvious?" Indra asked. Sasuke stared for elaboration as he watched Indra walk to the bar for another pour of his drink. And he spoke after giving a disheartened and pained chuckle that Sasuke almost felt himself.
And they stood beside each other. Indra facing the bar and Sasuke with his back against it, as the man spoke.
"It's because despite what you or anyone may think with my previous actions, I do love her, Uchiha. I love her, and I can't watch her suffer anymore. I guess you can say that makes me a fool in love." He admitted with a disheartened chuckle. Sasuke stared at him from the side, seemingly indifferent, but again, there was this understanding he felt with Indra.
A damnable connection between them, formed out of their reverent love for the same woman and he was reminded about how he himself hated seeing Sakura cry.
He hated her tears. He hated being the reason for them. Indra must have been just as opposed to them as he was, on top of having a direct hand in the reason for them. It was enough for Indra to let her go.
So he said nothing, and allowed Indra to continue.
"I just want her happiness. I want to see her smile and I hoped that she'd be able to smile with me. I wanted things to be the way they were in the past." Indra continued on, somberly revealing his hopes and his own desires.
"But no matter what I did...even the smiles she would come to give me here and there, were filled with emptiness. Reactory, with nothing behind it." Sasuke looked away, gripping the glass and drinking.
Because he remembered what she said and he had to place a rubbing hand onto his face for his own comfort.
"Being without you it's felt like there's been nothing but an emptiness inside me. I don't want to feel anything without you. I don't want anything without you."
His teeth gritted behind his closed lips, because now, he understood what the pain in his head and chest was coming from now. It just happened now with Indra's confession and while it was a little less with the consideration that he knew where she was and that she was safe, it was still excruciating to know she suffered.
She was in pain the entire time and it got to the point where it attacked him too. He wasn't even aware and it was all still so vivid, he officially understood why he damn near collapsed several times whenever he felt it.
And now he wondered if he was wrong about his thoughts before. Could he really watch Sakura suffer like that? If his and Indra's roles were reversed, and he killed the man just for her, could he watch her grieve like that? Could he watch her scream in front of him as hysterically and anguished as he heard?
And as he took his next drink, the notion was selfishly shoved to the side.
If he couldn't have her, no one could. That absolute belief that had been reaffirmed and confirmed as he made love to her just a while ago, was the merciless truth from him as an Uchiha. As cruel as it was, especially to Sakura, there simply wasn't another alternative.
He loved her too much to ever allow anyone to have her besides himself. He loved her way too much to even think of her in another man's arms. It just couldn't happen. He couldn't tolerate it and he wouldn't.
He'd be sorry to her forever. His penitence would be watching her cry and suffer for however long he had to.
But with her in his arms. He'd kiss her tears away. Embrace her trembling body with all the love he could muster until she was calm from her grief. He'd make love to her as many times as he needed to, to make her forget Indra all while being the reason the bastard was forever gone from this world.
Like the selfish bastard he was officially proven to be over her.
"You should know, the entire time she was with me, it was obvious...she only wanted you. I could not fill your place. It possibly would have taken me years, before I could ever replace even a small fraction of the hole in her heart." Indra spoke, making Sasuke freeze in all bodily functions, from blinking to breathing. His eyes widened and Indra turned back to him, with a saddened and heartbroken look in his eyes.
After all he put them through, especially Sakura, the Uchiha at least deserved to know the whole time, her heart had been his. He had never been successful in stealing her heart. The only thing he managed to steal away was her physical presence. Nothing else.
Not her heart. Not her mind. Not even her body. None of it was ever his and Indra unwillingly accepted that. Her thoughts, the entire time, had been on the Uchiha she loved. Her heart, the entire time, called out for Sasuke Uchiha, and not for him. And she isolated herself after she thought she lost him.
He couldn't take seeing her like that anymore. He couldn't allow her to go on like this, because if it wasn't for him, nothing would have come into fruition. None of that day would have happened if he hadn't given into Karin and her ever tempting offer. Shamefully, he realized it was all him.
It was he who gave into Karin's ideals. It was him who allowed what happened to happen. He was the reason for Sakura's pain. He always had been and he didn't want to be. Not anymore.
He was just as hurt about the entire ordeal as Sasuke was. He should have gone with his gut that day, and found other means of obtaining her heart. He shouldn't have gone through with helping Karin. He could have taken his time; courted her, and befriended her again.
He imagined they'd even start reminiscing and maybe she might remember her feelings for him...if she ever had any. And then, like he actually wanted, he could have stolen her heart from the Uchiha.
She wouldn't be as lost to him as she was, as of now.
Or maybe...that had all been a foolish fantasy all along. A fool's dream brought by Karin's temptation to him. She had moved on, and he could only assume she had moved on long before she was with the Uchiha. She didn't even want anything to do with him to begin with and he ignored that all for his own selfish gain.
So the least he could do, was tell the Uchiha of how she suffered without him.
"She cried...so much. She yelled and screamed with absolute grief that first night. She even blamed herself. She thought it was her fault. She thought she did something wrong, for you to be in a closet with the Karin woman...that it was her." Indra continued to confess and his eyes lowered as he thought back to earlier. And he drank, to try and ease the pain he felt about the anguished scream she gave. How she fought against him while he held her and screamed she wanted to go.
Sasuke's shocked eyes filled with pain as well, snapping back over to the Otsutsuki for confirmation of what he just said. Sasuke's heart panged as he listened to Indra's words. With the way she had cried to him earlier, he knew for a fact that Indra's words were true.
The way her very soul cried for him, made him know Indra was telling him the truth. From what she said to the way she held him so tightly when he reclaimed her, Indra wasn't lying. And why would the man who tried stealing Sakura from him bother to say this, if it wasn't true. And he hated it.
Sakura had absolutely no reason to blame herself for all this. She did nothing wrong. Ever. Not even once, and to hear she blamed herself screwed him up on all levels.
Tomorrow, he was going to address that. He was going to make sure she knew she did absolutely nothing wrong, if he hadn't already proven that to her tonight.
"She'd whimper and cry your name in the middle of the night. Indeed, as your lapdog reported, she had even screamed it...calling for you. Wanting you while in complete aguished mourning of the belief that she couldn't have you." Indra only stayed staring down at his drink, continuing to relay all of Sakura's pain to him.
"And if she wasn't drunk and doing everything to forget you, you were obviously on her thoughts, even though she dared not admit it. She dared not say, hear or even see your name consciously. Just your name alone would be her undoing. It happened the night you called me to the hotel. She saw your name on my phone...and she broke." Indra relayed bitterly and Sasuke couldn't help but cringe.
Hearing this...he felt so much more at fault than before. He should've done more. He should have fought harder. He was officially adamant about it; he should have never let her leave that day. No matter how much she fought him or how much she despised him in the moment, he should have kept her on his office floor no matter what.
He would have saved them both so much pain, if he hadn't let her go, that day.
"She wanted nothing more than self-destruction without you and I simply couldn't bear to see it anymore. Without you, I watched the precious flower we both love begin wilting away...as if she needed you to truly live. She was dying right in front of me...and there was nothing I could do about it." Indra looked away from him and looked down. Though Sasuke couldn't see it with the coverage of his hair, his face had become bittersweetly pained with the facts he had listed and long accepted.
Even though he was willing to wait and work years to obtain Sakura's heart, Indra could not deny the truth any longer with her suffering. He couldn't let her go on like this.
And if she had decided that she no longer wanted the Uchiha, then he would gladly take her back, if she wished it so. He'd wait for her, if need be. However long she needed. If she ever wanted him instead of the Uchiha, he would gladly take her away. She knew where to find him, if she ever needed to.
Although...he had a hunch, the Uchiha probably wouldn't let her get very far. Especially not after all this.
"No matter how much I held her, no matter how much I consoled her...she only wanted you, even when she stated otherwise." Indra said quietly. Sasuke gave another glare, and with the hand he had on his glass squeezing to restrain his anger.
He was both pleased and upset hearing this. Again, he had to learn that Sakura suffered more than she should have and he learned that she loved him to the insufferable degree he loved her. He had to learn that Sakura cried an unimaginable amount of tears through all this, even compared to tonight.
She suffered like this...only to continue loving him still? He now wished she hated him, at least a little bit. She could hate him, she could hit him like she did in that nightmare he had, she could scream at him, if it would make this twinge in his heart go away.
Instead she just surrendered to him and her love of him, the way he damn near forced her to. She tried to get him to stop the pain, only for him to make her endure it…and she didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve any of this.
And he couldn't help but take his newfound anger with himself out on Indra.
"Why?! Why did you lie when I came to you looking for her, asshole?! How could you just let her suffer like that?!" Sasuke angrily interrogated, shifting to look at Indra now.
Having to hear this...he was just filled with even more pain than before. And with Indra talking like this he had to ask why the asshole just didn't reunite them sooner. Why did he put him and Sakura through this hell that was being without each other for so long? Why, when it apparently hurt her this much.
Indra stared for a moment, before he gave a sudden and somber snicker.
"It was her wish. I told you, I only did what she asked of me and she didn't want to see you. She was so hurt by what she saw, she didn't want to see you or anyone. She specifically asked not to be found and to not tell you or anyone where she was." Indra started explaining. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, being reminded of Kakashi's advisory only hours after she went missing.
She'd hide herself. She'd be gone for as long as she felt like it, and it depended on the level of upset she was at. She was that upset at that sight? So much so, she refused to even leave Indra? She refused to hear his name? She refused to see him? That day...seeing that had hurt her that much?
I can't stop seeing you and her!
His hands clenched reactively, and he resented that day happening even more. What did he expect, when she loved him as she did? She said it herself, the entire ordeal was maddening for her, just as it was for him. She couldn't handle the torture that was loving him and being without him, and it shouldn't have ever happened in the first place.
"But, despite her request to stay away from you, it was almost like she couldn't stand being without you. She'd be angry and upset with you for one moment, and the next, she was crying your name with longing. Or she was crying for you in her sleep." Indra continued.
"I had indeed tried to insinuate to her that nothing was as it seemed...but she couldn't bear to even think of it. She couldn't bear to have witnessed you with another woman. Even just the thought of it was enough to break her." Sasuke's brow furrowed at that last part. Sakura's voice reached his ears and his eyes dropped.
I couldn't take it, just thinking she kissed you. Or that you touched her the way you touched me.
Now he understood why Indra let her drink. Why he kept and secured her, even though Indra did it in a way that caused her agony. Because the man was watching her self-destruct without him and was trying to take care of her. He wanted to give her solace, but he also wanted to keep her.
And he mentally sighed, for the nth time tonight and throughout all of this.
"You're still a piece of shit, you know that?" Sasuke snarled, because if there was anything else the asshole who tried to steal his woman was going to say, he was at least going to admit that he was a piece of shit. Scum of the Earth. The most conniving, manipulative and deceptive, son of a bitch he had ever had the absolute displeasure of having a connection with in his entire life.
"I will only allow you and Sakura to call me that." Indra accepted, snickering. Sasuke glared, before he grudgingly sighed. He turned his head away. After a moment of silence, he broke.
"...You have one single request." Sasuke seethed out, making Indra look at him curiously and in surprise.
With that statement, the Uchiha was admitting he was indebted to him. And Indra was honestly surprised, because he was almost certain the Uchiha wasn't going to give in to it, even with his threat of outing Sakura as meaningless to him. He truly believed the Uchiha was going to go on without payment, and he was proven wrong just now.
And Sasuke was only allowing it because of Sakura. Apparently, Sakura was just that important to him, that he accepted the debt he had been placed into.
Because Indra did take care of her, in a roundabout way. After learning how much she was hurting and the fact that the Otsutsuki was indeed there for her in her time in turmoil—even though it was him that caused it, Indra was very minimalistically redeemed to him, for him to endure all of that with her and still keep her safe.
Somewhat.
For that;
"One. That's it. Nothing else, Otsutsuki. Don't ask me for shit-else." Sasuke reiterated, drinking the rest of his glass and turning to repour himself a drink. It was also to prepare himself for whatever the Otsutsuki was about to ask for.
Indra stared at the man for a moment, before he gave a somber and grateful smirk.
Because he understood the Uchiha and what that meant. He understood, the Uchiha would give anything for Sakura and it was a small slice of comfort in the pain he felt for losing her forever. All the way down to admitting he was in debt to him.
But he was grateful. He was, at the very least, thankful Sakura would be with someone who treasured her. She would be with a man who loved her so much, he'd even put himself into a debt he shouldn't have ever had in the first place. She'd be loved and protected...and that was enough for him. He still hated the man, but he was just as grateful to him as the Uchiha apparently was to him.
"As much as I don't want to ask this of you...as much as I hate to ask this of you...my request for you to repay your debt to me is…to make Sakura happy." Indra trailed before looking the man solemnly in the eye. A somber and painful smile was on his lips as well.
"Make sure she smiles everyday of her life, as much as you possibly can. Do not let her cry or feel pain. Don't break her heart. Don't leave her...like I did. Give her the life I always wanted to give her. And love her more than anything in this universe." Sasuke's eyes grew just a bit, still glaring but in shock at Indra's requested payment. Indra gave a smirk at the Uchiha's taken aback and incredulous gaze.
He bet his life, the Uchiha would never do what he was doing at this moment with Sakura. With the way he acted, he bet if the Uchiha couldn't have her, the man would decide that no one could. So he wasn't baffled at all that the Uchiha was shocked at his defeatist behavior. At the very least, for him, it was a big ask.
That's when Indra gave a taunting and challenging smirk. The Uchiha defeated him, but that didn't mean he gave up. Even if it didn't happen in this life, maybe it could happen in the next. This was his loss in battle. But love was war, and he would fight another day, if the time came.
Whenever it was his time to strike, if it ever came, he'd strike back. They'd fight another battle once again and Sasuke saw that promise in Indra's eyes.
He gave his own challenging glare, because he promised, no matter what, the result, next time, would be the same. It would end with Sakura at his side and with Indra as nothing but an irrelevance.
Besides, he already promised, he'd kill him; if there ever was a next time.
"And if you fail, I won't hesitate to take her away from you again." He watched a flash of fury cross Sasuke's gaze before his eyes narrowed again.
So, even with the threat of death, the bastard was willing if he was able. He had to admit, the Otsutsuki had goddamn balls of steel. Did Indra think he was bluffing or was he confident he could protect himself and Sakura from him? Both lines of thinking were stupid, because nothing would stand in his way if he tried to take her away again.
He'd chase them all over the Earth. There would be nowhere they could run and hide that he wouldn't find. Especially if he set the world ablaze like he almost did to this very city.
He already still wanted to kill him now. So if Indra really wanted to test his luck, he didn't mind in the slightest.
It would keep him out of Sakura's life entirely.
The Uchiha drank the rest of his entire glass as did Indra in a silent toast. Sasuke brought his glass down, opening his eyelids after savoring the burn of whiskey down his throat to glare neutrally at Indra.
"...Fine." The single word left Sasuke's lips with quiet and begrudging acceptance, only because he knew Sakura would never have to leave him again. She'd never do this again. The only reason she would ever be away from his side would be because she couldn't be at his side and nothing else.
And Indra's request for payment was, technically, already done. It was written in stone. He already loved her more than anything in this universe. He would give her the world and whatever else she wanted. Her life, by his side, would be nothing short of everything and anything she wanted. His goal had always been to make her happy.
So to Sasuke, it was a stupid waste of a request. Especially when the man had placed an Uchiha in debt.
Indra grunted with appreciation refilling the glass of the man who defeated him in his quest to obtain his long lost love.
"This is your victory, Uchiha. Why so bitter?" Indra chuckled out softly. Sasuke's scowl remained on his face, though he didn't refuse the refill.
Proving the two were at a truce again. This time personally. And only for now.
"Why are you suddenly acting like we're friends?" Sasuke questioned back acidicly, as he drank regardless. Indra gave a sigh.
"Well...I know this will be odd to say...but, again, I understand you, Uchiha. Though I can't stand you and I am envious of you, I have never connected with someone in our status as much as you. You, at the very least, have my respect and confidence. I would trust no one else to have her, except you." He remarked strongly as well as reluctantly. Sasuke glared with malice.
He didn't want any form of this bastard's blessing on his and Sakura's relationship. And that's almost what that last sentence sounded like. He probably just cursed it, more than blessed it. He didn't want the bastard's acknowledgement. Just to be over and done with all this.
He wanted the bastard to never show his face again. He wanted him to stay a thousand miles or more from Sakura. He wanted him out of their lives, as he and Sakura continued it together.
To put it simply; he wanted Indra to fuck off.
"No, we are not friends and no, I do not hold warm feelings for you. I despise that you are the man that holds the heart of the woman I love. I despise you for being the one her heart chose and that I didn't find her before you did. But...I understand you and in a way, that makes me feel connected to you. Through our feelings for Sakura...we are bonded. Wouldn't you agree?" Indra said out loud the one decent thought Sasuke shared with the rival for love.
Their understanding of each other, that caused this odd connection and comprehension between them of what Sasuke could only call hateful camaraderie. Almost like they were two veteran soldiers who had fought on opposing sides of a war and now stood together after the end of said war that had lasted years.
Now with the battles being over, with no need to fight anymore—despite them still holding onto their personal beliefs that started the war in the first place; they were to be civil. As they readjusted to their lives of peace despite still being haunted by their hatred and war, they were to refrain from action in each other's presence. Especially around civilians.
They were two hateful rivals, made comrades, reluctantly welcoming him to share a few drinks to ease off the night's stress. An old enemy, inviting him to shrug off the memories of war for the meantime. Maybe to even converse about it a bit.
They both acknowledged that and each other...and they both despised it, no matter the mutual respect or regards.
"If you understand that much, then you understand I don't want you within a thousand miles of her. I don't even want you looking at her from afar." He calmly proclaimed, drinking again. Indra grunted, before he eyed the Uchiha curiously.
"Is having all of her that addicting?" He questioned, quietly curious and his gaze envious. He'd probably never know first hand in this life. He had only small tastes of what the Uchiha had. Part of him was glad he stopped Sakura that night, and part of him still hated himself for it.
If they went through with it, he'd probably be just as addicted to her as the Uchiha was now. He'd be unable to let her go and this interaction between him and Uchiha wouldn't be as civil as it was right now.
It would have only ended with one of them dead, and the last man standing would be the one to claim Sakura as their reward.
"How is any of that your business, Otsutuski? She's mine. Her being addictive or not is irrelevant to you. You'll never have her again." Sasuke snapped lightly and declared harshly. Indra gave his own glare and went to sit back on the couch with his freshly poured glass.
"Humor me, Uchiha. It's the least you can do for having her in my bed. As if I'll ever be able to get that out of my mind. Consider it a part of your debt." Indra grumbled shamelessly using that to his advantage.
"I told you one, bastard. You already gave your request! You've already been repaid!" Sasuke seethed and Indra stared back aloofly.
"And I'm both positive and aware that's not what she cost. You don't intend to skimp on your debt for her, Uchiha, do you?" Indra argued back all too knowingly. Sasuke's brow twitched and his vein by his temple throbbed before he decided to concede. He sighed angrily.
He walked over to sit down on another set of the matching couches away from Indra. He slouched, an arm on and across the head of the long piece of couch he was on, with an ankle over his knee. He glared down at his drink.
Sasuke had to think about the question and the answer came in what he told Sakura before this entire mess. He thought about how much he loved her, how much he loved her body. How much he loved all the good things she made him feel. Only Sakura could ever fill him with desire. Only Sakura could fill him with longing and need the way he needed her now.
Her smile. Her laugh. Her touch. Her kiss itself. The way she said his name. All of it enraptured him. He was obsessed with it all. He loved every single bit of it. It was as if her body and soul was calling out to him and he was a slave to that siren's call. He had displayed dominance with her before, but the truth was, he was a slave to her.
She had him chained. And he didn't want to be free.
And he was once again reminded of what Itachi said back then. When they were alone at his party, and for whatever reason, he started there.
"My mother...apparently once said we Uchiha fall in love to the point of insanity. And these last few days have certainly proved that's true of my blood. Her smile...her laugh. The way she caresses my face, or kisses my lips—just holding her...it all drives me insane." He started quietly. Indra watched a simmering heat come to the Uchiha's eyes, unlike none he had ever seen before.
Was the Uchiha seeing her now, in his mind's eye? That smitten expression told him he was.
"Everything she does drives me crazy and it only gets worse as I want her more. Containing it has become damn near impossible, at this point. Especially when she's in my sights or in my arms. I can't even restrain myself anymore." He continued, his eyes becoming smoldering charcoals that were completely smitten.
And his lips spoke nothing but truth.
"I'll never have enough of her…I can't get enough of her. Addicting isn't the word for it, Otsutsuki, and if you think that's all it is, you're dead wrong..." Sasuke admitted and drank. Indra's eyes lowered again. He had a feeling he would have felt the same. If he went through with it that night she pulled him and tempted him, he might not have been as courteous or considerate for Sakura's feelings as he was being now.
Just her kiss was addictive, so with the phrasing Sasuke used, Indra didn't doubt the desire and need for more after having more than just that. The Uchiha had had all of her, so the need must have been ten times that.
He wanted to know. He wanted to know what exactly he had just lost by giving it away.
"Then, tell me. What is the word?" Indra pried. Because despite that talk he and the Uchiha had that day in his office, when everything about this transpired, he wanted to be sure. He wanted to know he was giving up Sakura to a man that loved her as much or more than he did, if that really was what he was doing at all.
Sasuke thought for a long moment, before he shook his head. He couldn't find the word. There were no words to describe what she did to him. Truly. He had even told her, she had no idea what she did to him...and neither did he. All he could do was react to her and love her. That's all he had ever been able to do.
So the only thing he could do now was take shots in the dark at what it was.
"Witchcraft...sorcery…divine power...a curse? Maybe she's my soulmate and I'm all too aware of it? I'll probably never know exactly what it is, ever, in my life. All I know is the longer I've had her, the more I've wanted her. The first night she gave herself to me...isn't even where it started." Sasuke spoke, surely and softly. His eyes remained smokey and tender.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. You said yourself, you've experienced firsthand why I'm possessive of her. You love her, don't you? You've had her lips…you should know what I mean..." He growled and took a gulp of his drink. He moved back into a slouching position, an ankle crossed over his thigh and his free arm and hand resting at the head of the couch.
And then he chugged the just poured drink angrily, after having the image of Indra kissing Sakura pop into his mind, again.
That scene was really never going to leave him, was it? Even though it was just his imagination, the fact that Sakura and Indra confirmed it for him was never going to let him forget it.
Not to mention the thought of Indra on top of her.
"So?" Indra inquired further and Sasuke grimaced. Did he really have to spell it out? He was officially certain that the Otsutsuki's love for her did not match his own. If Indra really did love her the way he loved her, he'd have already put the pieces together already.
So Sasuke completely doubted that Indra, and any other man who "loved" her, would ever surpass him and his love for her. Never. Not even if they loved her for a million years. Hell, him loving her for a million years still wouldn't be enough, so it was implausible for anyone to love her more than he did.
Couldn't the bastard just imagine it on his own? He had come up with his own fantasies before he ever even claimed Sakura's lips to begin with. Surely, Indra could do the same, if he actually loved her as much as he did.
Then again, what Sakura did, without even knowing she did it, was infeasible. So maybe Indra's ignorance could be forgiven, in that regard. He could confidently say that Sakura Haruno was a woman of impossibility. After all, not only did she manage to make him completely lose his composure and his mind, she also placed him into a debt he sure as hell didn't want.
Just how she did that, how she managed the impossible, he couldn't say. Be it his love for her or whatever the hell it was, she pulled the absolute impossible—on an Uchiha, noless.
But the woman did it. She did it and she did it all without even really lifting a finger. She just existed. She became a part of his life and a part of him. So, to be frank, no matter how frustrated she made him feel and no matter how angry he admittedly was, he honestly didn't care how she did it.
So long as he was the sole owner of her heart, body and mind, then he couldn't care about anything she put him through…so long as it wasn't this again.
He swore to the heavens, if he ever caught her with another man again, he was going to commit bloody murder.
"So, you know each kiss is more addictive than the last. You know she is almost impossible to resist." He started stating. And Indra was brought back to the first night he and she kissed—reciprocatively.
He remembered how he couldn't get enough of even just kissing her, and how each time he did, he wanted more. How just touching her gave him a high he wanted to stay in. Sasuke's eyes lifted to meet Indra, still smoldering charcoals all too evidently thinking about Sakura right now.
He had all of her tonight. He had her many times over...and even Indra could tell he still wanted more. Even now. Even after having loved her, over and over, to the point of exhaustion for both him and for her. Just thinking about her the way he was right now was enough to fill him with a desire for more.
"Imagine...that what you feel now is added onto by a thousand. And then multiply that number by a million." He described. As the answer left his lips, he realized one of his many thoughts about his feelings for her were true. He would never have enough of her.
No matter how many times she gave herself to him, no matter how many times she smiled at him and said she loved him, he officially knew, it was never going to be enough...because he'd always want more of her.
Like he told her and like she so adamantly declared, there could be no one else for him. No one else could have him, because he was only for her. Sakura just didn't know the extent and now, after saying all this, neither did he.
"Keep multiplying; keep adding and multiplying with bigger and bigger numbers, with more and more commas, never subtracting, until the number—until the feeling is just...impossible to understand. Until you can't get enough of her, because there is no end to how much of her you want." Sasuke sighed out, holding his forehead in his free hand now.
"It's...infinite. The need, the want, the longing, the desire for her; all of it, is just infinite." He ended and drank his glass.
That had been what happened with him after all.
He met her in a restaurant, his feelings started at a thousand. He spent time with her being his secretary, his feelings multiplied by a million. And then each day he spent with her, each day he had her, it piled and piled and piled, until it was the absurd abundance it was now. A humanly incomprehensible and ridiculously impossible number for a human to truly conceptualize. That's how he felt about her.
It's probably why he couldn't ever understand it himself. It's probably why each time he hit an end of the deep abyss that was his love for her and thought that was it, it crumbled and revealed an even deeper cavern for him to sink into. Maybe that's why he would never know how much he loved Sakura. He'd never know the extent of his love for her because it was just going to go on and on, forever.
There was no start and no end to how much he loved her.
After verbalizing it like this...he was certain the abyss that was his love for her was just endless. He'd be sinking down into it for eternity whether he showed it or not. In this life, and the next, and the next. Whatever afterlife he had awaiting him when he died, he'd still love her.
He loved her infinitely and there truly was nothing simpler he could put it down to.
"You worship her…" Indra murmured with comprehension. Sasuke's eyes remained low as he brought his cup down from his lips, unable to stop from feeling Sakura in the moment. Feeling her skin. Hearing her moans. The way she called out his name. He could still feel the way her body felt against his. The way she felt in his arms. He was feeling all of her even now.
"Sasuke-kun…"
Did she call for him just now? Was the sensation of her touch coming to him because she was grasping around in her sleep looking for him as she did before? His still simmering eyes flickered towards the stairs, and he felt himself twitch ever so slightly. He felt his heart rate pick up.
And he wanted to go to her already.
"She's everything...to me. She's everything and more and...I'm not whole without her. Or better to say, the days have proven I am no longer anything without her. It might even be better to say I was never truly anything without her to begin with." If he really had to put it into words, he'd describe his love to her as a newfound, religious devotion. She was a Goddess and a worship he found peace and comfort in, the way other people found the same solace in their religions.
"Just a frustrated, sad, tired, lonely man...who didn't know how to care for someone else, how to love someone else...or how to live. That's all I ever was…and it took having her and losing her to realize that. Like you said in my office that day…she gave me life."
He shot a glare to Indra.
"So now you understand exactly what you stole and kept from me? And then to have me find her here...with you, bastard…" His voice started seething again. His anger was returning again. He couldn't stop seeing the rival in his imagination staring at him rather smugly, whilst kissing the woman he loved so reverently.
Indra smirked from the slight satisfaction of having to know he at least damaged the Uchiha after all was said and done. Sasuke noticed, and gave a murderous glare.
"Get that fucking look off your face, before I rearrange it." Sasuke threatened maliciously, only for Indra to keep his smirk.
"Not a chance, Uchiha. Let me relish in your suffering. You are thinking about me and her, right?" Indra mocked, and his words hit Sasuke spot on.
He damn near jumped out his seat to wring his hands around the man's throat.
But he remembered Sakura. He remembered she needed him and she needed to be with him. And it kept his violence at bay, even though his malice remained.
"Fuck you." He spat back with enough venom to kill the man across from him instantly, although he remained alive and smirking at him even more with the confirmation. It remained for a moment, before Indra's face shifted. It reverted into what Sasuke could only read to be melancholic envy, and the slight scowl that lined his lips expressed his distaste.
What that distaste and disdain was in Indra's eyes, he could only assume to be because of the reality that Sakura was his, and she was loved. Indra probably just realized what the gravity of giving Sakura back to him was.
She was never going to be let go of again. She was, now and forever, completely ensnared by the Uchiha in entirety and now that said Uchiha had her back, there was no getting her back for Indra. He would never have the experiences with her Sasuke did. He would never have her again.
And the envy and pain he felt for accepting that came out all too selfishly.
"Why her?" Indra growled, out of begrudging envy and disdain. Sasuke's eyes stared at him, almost reading the man's mind.
Indra wasn't just questioning 'why her'. He wasn't questioning why he loved her.
He was asking why, out of the millions of women in this world he could have, out of the hundreds who fawned over him and displayed affection for him, why did it have to be Sakura? Did it have to be her? Why did it have to be the woman he, too, loved?
Sasuke's eyes shifted away. He didn't know why, but...he was actually feeling pity for Indra. Maybe because he understood how he felt and would feel the same way, if not worse, if he was in his shoes. The man said, through their same feelings for her, they were connected and after all this, he was considering it might be true.
Indra lost Sakura for years. He loved her all that time, and just when they had been reunited, his love would go unrequited. It was a tragic fate that Sasuke couldn't help but sympathize with.
Losing Sakura for just a few days was maddening enough for him. The thought of her not loving him anymore made him sick to his stomach more than once. He couldn't imagine being in Indra's shoes. In fact, now that he took that into consideration, he fully understood why Indra did what he did, more than he did before. He understood why Indra took Karin's deal and did anything to get Sakura back.
He hated it, of course. The bastard was wrong entirely, in everything that he did. But he understood it...and again, he would've done the same thing, if not; worse.
So he gave the man his answer, even though he didn't deserve it. If not repay his debt, to give the man some kind of displaced solace he would have wanted, in a situation where he understood the full ramifications of Indra's loss in this.
If he died—because, again that was the only way Sakura would ever be free of him, somewhat—and Sakura did indeed find another man willing to put up with his pissed off ghost, he'd hope as well, that the man she was with would love her and protect her to all the degrees he wished for in life.
"...It just happened. She just...happened. I saw her for the first time, working in Cafe Blanche, and...it had to be her. The moment I laid my eyes on her. I can't tell you how she did it...but when I laid my eyes on her, I just knew. I knew she had to be mine the moment I saw her, even when I denied that myself at first. She had to be, no matter what." Sasuke answered honestly. Indra's eyes cringed with mutual understanding.
Sakura, as smart and brilliant as she was, had always seemed so unaware. She was blind to her surroundings, all while she saw everything. She was unaware of the things she did. She was unaware of her beauty, inside and out.
Unaware that she made a thirteen year old boy fall in love with her all those years ago, the same way Sasuke was describing now.
"I...can't live without her anymore. Maybe she is an unknowing angel or an unaware Goddess. A sorceress. Some kind of mythological siren that chose me, and is going to take my soul the day I die. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I've just gone crazy after years of stress and work." He started going through the lists. And still, Sasuke had no idea what it was.
Maybe they were just soulmates like he thought.
"Maybe it's my blood, and like my mother said, I fell in love with her by reason of insanity. Maybe because of that, after I fell in love with her, I was bound to her and now there can be no one else for me. Maybe I was just meant to love her." Sasuke gave an unknowing shake of his head, in reaction to his own lack of knowledge for what he was describing.
His eyes opened to meet Indra's reserved and incredulous gaze. He gave an amused scoff and smirk, before he ran a hand through his hair.
Angels and Goddesses? Sorceresses and sirens? Spells and witchcraft? Some sort of blood curse? He sounded crazy for sure. He had no doubt if a normal person heard him speaking of her this way, they'd think he was crazy.
He knew it. It wasn't possible to explain his love for Sakura. Words didn't do it justice. It just made it sound all the more complex, when really, it should have been simple.
From now on, if anyone asked if he loved her he was just going to put it down to a simple yes. And he wasn't going to explain further.
Yeah. He loved her. That's it.
"Other than what you said that day, about her giving me freedom...about her giving me a light I've always, but never realized I needed in our world, and about her being an escape for me; I have no answers, other than the paranormal or she is just some sort of natural phenomenon. One that gives me life." Sasuke closed his eyes in contemplation as he struggled to even describe this part.
Because he didn't know. He would probably never know why it had to be Sakura. It just had to be.
"It's crazy sounding...I know. Time and time again, I've tried to make sense of it myself but I've never been able to. At this point, I can't give you any more than that. The truth is, Indra, even I don't know. I'll probably never know what it is or exactly how she did this to me. Not in this life and maybe not even in the next." It was the only way he could describe what Sakura did to him. It was the only way he could describe what she made him feel.
And something told him, Indra understood him, no matter how crazy he sounded. He wasn't looking at the man right now, but he could damn near feel the understanding gaze the man was currently staring at him with and he drank to it.
"And the first time she told me she loved me and gave herself to me; both in the same night...there was no saving me. I was done for...the instant she told me she loved me. And I was even more of a goner after I had all of her. She has to be mine and no one else's. She has to wait for me to return for her. She has to love me and only me, and I won't tolerate or accept anything else." He shook his head in confirmation of that affirmation.
"All I know for certain is I love her, more than I can comprehend. I love her more than I can say and more than I can show and I can't stop loving her. I'll keep loving her…probably forever. She simply means more to me than my own life. She's simply everything to me." Sasuke took a drink again.
And he gave a somber smile, remembering Sakura's cried out accusation towards him. Where she blamed him for loving her and making her fall in love with him. How he told her he couldn't stop loving her, even though she cried for him to do so.
"Part of me, honestly, fully blames her for it. I never considered romance in my life. I wasn't interested in love or anything outside of work until the day I set my eyes on her. It wasn't a part of my agenda. It never had been…" He sighed out truthfully.
"But then she does nothing but step into my sights one random Thursday, and she became everything I wanted. I had no control over it, whatsoever. So again, I blame her…and during our talk, it turns out she blames me as well. So, who knows at this point." He continued.
Honestly speaking of her like this, outloud, was giving him a sort of relief from everything that happened. Of course, he loved her. He knew he loved her, but speaking about it outloud was reaffirming it a million times over. He told Indra what he had and it multiplied those feelings he had by millions.
But now, maybe they should just add multiple infinites. Infinity times infinity, times infinity. Multiplying by millions and exponents just wasn't going to cut it anymore. Not when he felt like this.
What was even beyond infinity? Could that even be a concept? Infinity wasn't supposed to end at all, and yet, he couldn't help but think he loved her even beyond that.
His eyes shifted to glare into Indra's, a promise coming to them and the smoldering simmer that came from smitten adoration of his lover dissipated into hate for him.
"Now, after all that's been said, you understand; I will kill you, if you ever pull some shit like this again. If you ever try something like this again, I swear on Sakura's life, I'll kill you, in the most heinous and brutal way I can muster." He vowed seriously, with a dangerously murderous look in his eyes. No doubts; just complete certainty.
And to swear that on the life of the woman he cherished, it was more than a vow. It was an absolute, prophetic promise. His next try at taking Sakura away again, would result in Sasuke taking his life. Or him taking Sasuke's. Indra gave a scoff and a smirk of acknowledgement that Sasuke didn't care for.
"Duly noted." They both drank. He had no intention of giving Indra more than that. Surely that was enough...it was enough to fully comprehend that he loved Sakura more than Indra ever could. Whatever amount of love Indra had, it was but a small fraction of what he had for her.
It should be enough to at least have some kind of confidence that Sakura was with the right man. If the Otsutsuki loved her even a fraction of the way he did, he was certain Indra wanted assurance she would be with someone who loved her and was going to take care of her.
That's probably why he asked all this in the first place.
"There's one last thing I want to know, Uchiha." The man asked and Sasuke gave a glare. The bastard was annoying him now. Sakura was calling for him a bit more now and he didn't want to spend anymore time with the bastard.
But Indra had one last question and he had a feeling it had to do with Sakura. When the topic was mentioned and as he had witnessed himself, the Uchiha's first action upon hearing this certain piece of information was to drive straight to Sakura.
And remembered the Uchiha's look of worry and relief on her.
"Danzo Shimura...what's his deal? Why did he hire an assassin to your building? Were you the intended target?" Indra asked. Sasuke's eyes glared, looking down at his already halfway done drink. His hand squeezed on the glass at the memory of what felt like so long ago.
The memory of Sakura bleeding out on his office floor—of being absolutely terrified of losing her, before he ever even explored what his feelings were for her in the first place, it still shook him to this day. It probably always would. After all, that event was why he was so desperate to protect her.
He had a first hand experience in one of the many lessons his father taught him. Someone, somewhere was always going to want something of his. They'd take from him in any way they saw fit.
Danzo wanted him dead and had hired someone to do it before she came into the picture. And he tried to kill her when he realized she was precious to him. Because he wanted to take Uchiha Corps. He hurt Sakura, for that. He'd never let that go. He'd never forgive it. That's why he refused to let the bastard get away with it.
The situation between him and Danzo was going to end in only one of two ways. With Danzo locked behind bars for the rest of his natural life, or with one of them killing the other.
And seeing as he fully intended to live his life with Sakura, he refused to be the one killed. By any means necessary.
"Of course I was the intended target. Typical story of a man feeling entitled to everything we have by birthright. He believed my father should have made him the CEO in his will and was unhappy with simply being appointed as one of the branch managers to one of the highests paying offices of Uchiha Corps." Sasuke started explaining.
He didn't really know why. He didn't have to tell Indra any of this. Maybe it was just to finally take his mind off everything that had transpired these last few days? Maybe just because it technically did have to do with Sakura and for some reason now, anything associated with her had to be passed on to the asshole. He wasn't sure what it was, but he continued, after taking a drink.
"That was apparently not enough for him. I learned he planned my assassination a month prior to the shooting and from there, he somehow intended to obtain ownership of the company...except…," Sasuke trailed, the next part always being the part he hated. It would be the reason he was so desperate to protect her.
"Except what?" Indra urged him to continue, staring at Sasuke with a concerned gaze. Sasuke kept his glaring eyes down at his drink, and his hand squeezed on his glass.
He still resented himself for that day happening. If he hadn't brought her along to that meeting, Danzo would have never known anything about her. He would have never sent Sasori after her. It would have been him bleeding somewhere on the floor, not her. It should have been him.
"I was not as subtle or covert with my feelings for her as I thought in the beginning. Or maybe it was his years of experience with my father that allowed him to read me so well…" He contemplated remembering what Danzo said to him
"But Danzo…realized I was in love with her. He saw I loved her, before I ever even realized it myself." Sasuke's eyes started glaring.
He'd never forgive himself for that. He'd never forgive himself for not shielding her from Danzo. And God knows who else knew she was precious to him now, after that. Not even he himself knew how many enemies or rivals his love had officially been exposed to, and how many of them were willing to exploit it for their personal gains over him.
Another reason he was so desperate to protect her. It wasn't just from Danzo. It was from Danzo and anything else that was a threat to her as well. She was his woman, and as he learned very well, that meant she'd be a target for any nefarious means against him.
"He changed his primary target from me to her...to make me suffer." He ended quietly. Indra's eyes widened with alarm and instantly he understood the implication.
"The employee who was shot...the one in the news…" Indra trailed, not wanting to say it or confirm it himself. Sasuke's silence confirmed it for him, much to Indra's visible horror.
"...In a roundabout way, it was him who made me realize I was in love with her already. He noticed right away that she was already precious to me. And when he made that attempt on her life, I learned right then what she meant to me. And I know he'll try again. Someday...with his freedom, he'll try to get back at me through her..."
Indra's free hand clenched into a fist. He made a decision. He may despise the Uchiha. He may hate him until the end of his days, and his bitterness towards him being the one Sakura loved would probably never fade, not even if years passed them by.
But he couldn't deny the Uchiha loved her. The Uchiha loved her just as much as she loved him—if not more.
And as much as he hated the man, he didn't wish the pain of losing her the way he had thought he did; forever, which apparently already almost happened. Indra knew that pain all to well, and for the man who loved her so reverently, he didn't wish him to know how it felt.
"Uchiha...I understand if you never want me around her ever again—" Sasuke snapped his glare towards him the moment he heard those words leave Indra's mouth.
"You're goddamn right, I don't." Indra rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly at the interruption before he collected himself.
"—But, I won't let Danzo or Orochimaru hurt her." Indra finished, ignoring the snarled statement. Sasuke's eyes glared warily and his head tilted down just a bit while keeping an eye on the Otsutsuki, a silent urging to continue his proposal.
"I will help with anything you need to secure her. Personnel, information, funds; you name it. If it will protect her...you need only contact me. I never have to come into contact with her ever again. I never have to get near her nor do I ever have to see her again, but…" Sasuke stared, tipsily realizing something.
Was this why he talked the way he did to Indra? Because subconsciously, he knew he'd get this kind of reaction? Did his business mind subconsciously draw out aid from the ashole for Sakura's wellbeing?
To be honest, he wasn't too sure. His mind was still a whirlwind of a mess.
"At the very least, let me do this...as atonement for everything I've done to her. You know my resources are almost limitless, even compared to yours. I even have more connections than you do, even within the government." Indra continued to pitch. Sasuke stared back, still glaring.
He didn't trust Indra. Sure, he gave the man props for keeping his woman safe and giving her back. He was grudgingly grateful for that.
However, like Indra said...he didn't want him around Sakura ever again. This didn't make them friends. Even if they shared a common goal of protecting the woman they both loved romantically, he couldn't trust him. Especially after what he had done.
He said he didn't need to be in contact with her ever again, but to use his resources for her? It just didn't sit right with him. Indra's presence would still be around her even if it wasn't physically and he just wasn't comfortable with that after all that had happened.
Additionally, why would he want the help of the man who also wanted to claim her heart? For all he knew, this was Indra's last ditch attempt to keep tabs on her and their relationship, to await an opening to sabotage it all over again. For all he knew, the instant he heard something was wrong between them, he'd swoop in to snatch Sakura as soon as he could.
Despite his reservations, Sasuke found himself still listening to the proposition.
"Let me help you protect her. You know how I feel for her, so you can rest assured anything provided by me will be all in her service...Danzo, nor anyone, will ever harm her again." Indra said. Sasuke's hard glare slowly eased before his gaze shifted, low and away from the man before him while finishing his drink.
He wasn't actually considering this, was he? Itachi's people would do just fine. Itachi even already had his plan of security all ready to go for Sakura's safety. He wasn't actually considering getting help from a man he despised more than anyone.
However...the asshole loved Sakura—not as much as he did, but he did love her. And...he grudgingly admitted there was no one more capable and more willing to protect her as much as he wished for than Indra.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, if the miracle ever happened in this life and Sakura did leave him for Indra, he could take some comfort that the man would protect and provide for her just as much as he could.
Not that it would save them from himself, but he vindictively acknowledged that when he showed up to kill Indra and to drag her back to his arms, she would at least have been well taken care of.
"Between the two of us, no one in this world will come even close to harming her. She'll be the most protected woman on this planet. Even if we despise each other, surely you can't pass that up. She's much more important than our resentment. We can put aside our hatred for that much. Cooperate with me, and we can ensure that what happened will never happen again." He closed the proposal.
That was true. She was much more important than their feud, that would now probably last until one of them died. With both their resources combined, she'd be the most protected woman in this world.
"Please, pardon my interruption, Young Master Indra, Uchiha-sama." The two suddenly heard, before Sasuke could give his answer. They both looked to see Migi standing there at the entryway with her hands folded in front of her, before she bowed with their acknowledgement of her.
"Uchiha-sama...Lady Sakura called for you. She is not awake nor have I disturbed her. I just thought it would be preferable to tell you." She quietly proclaimed and the two men stared at her for a long moment.
And in both their eyes was a pained understanding.
So he was feeling her a little while ago...his sixth sense was officially confirmed, he supposed. He could sense her calling for him and he damn near went to her in an instant, if it wasn't for Indra being in front of him.
Sasuke stood and then Indra. The Uchiha's eyes snapped to the man with a warning glare, because he still didn't want him setting even his eyes on her ever again. He wanted him to get the hell out of his own penthouse right now.
Especially because it was confirmed, his woman called for him. Just the way he felt she was. There was no reason for Indra to accompany him.
And he was no longer in the mood with having to take Sakura home. He wasn't in the mood to redress her tired body. He didn't want to disturb her when he had to carry her in and out of the car to either her home or his. Not after everything and to be honest, the few body shots Indra got on him were starting to hurt.
He just wanted to hold her in his arms all night. He wanted to hold her, kiss her and just be with her after all this. He wanted her to rest and dream of nothing but him loving her. He didn't care about anything else other than that. He didn't even care about his hatred for Indra or his anger for the situation.
Just her. She was more important than all of that.
And it appeared Indra agreed.
"Stay the night with her…she has slept, but not well these last few nights." His voice cut through him and Sasuke glared at him murderously. The man only stared back numbly.
'And whose fault is that?' He almost said. He almost wanted to attack the man again, but he felt Sakura call for him again.
So for now, he'd let it die. He'd just leave it be. He'd let this end here, between him and Indra.
His woman needed him now…as she had throughout all this.
Having enough for tonight, and feeling Sakura call for him again, he turned to go back to her. He didn't want to think anymore. He didn't want to think or talk about this other problem in his life right now, not after having just finished fixing a massive one. He turned to leave without saying a word.
"Uchiha, what is your answer? What about Danzo—" Indra called with urgence to the Uchiha's back.
"We'll discuss the details some other time. We're finished here. My woman needs me. Take your maid and get out." Sasuke spoke maliciously without turning around. He disappeared upstairs and Indra glared.
Grunting and grabbing his side, having felt the broken ribs stabbing him now. His wrist was most certainly fractured and he was sure the Uchiha gave him a concussion. It was going to be difficult to withstand during the cruise. Migi rushed to his side.
"Young Master!" She called out to him worriedly. Indra brought up a dismissive palm to stop her. She flinched worried he was upset with her for disobeying, only for Indra to speak to her somberly.
"Let's go Migi. My wounds need to be tended." He commanded. She stared at him painfully, before putting his arm over her shoulder and holding him steady. She said nothing, feeling nothing but defeat in her Young Master...as well as a pained acceptance.
He truly hated that man. He hated Sasuke Uchiha with a passion that burned hotter than a thousand suns.
And their feelings were mutual, both for each other and for Sakura.
Sasuke walked over to the bed without regard, looking down at Sakura with an unreadable and conflicted gaze. She was lying on her back, with one hand draped over her waist and the other limply against the bed. His fingers caressed her face gently.
He ran a tired hand down his face as he replayed and thought about everything that had happened. He stared at her between his fingers somberly.
He had to hand it to her. She did the impossible. She made him go batshit crazy. She made an Uchiha completely lose their mind. Without effort.
Or maybe it wasn't that rare in his bloodline at all, and it was just in his genetics to lose it like this with this kind of situation. Itachi had indicated that enough in his efforts to keep him in line throughout this mess.
Because he loved her, she was always going to drive him insane. Any and every little thing she did, was going to push his buttons and if it was something like this, he was going to lose it.
Despite that, he still wouldn't change this love he felt. Let the world take everything from him; so long as the one thing he kept was her. This world could officially take whatever it wanted from him, whenever, and he'd gladly give it. If it meant she stayed by his side, he'd give whatever he must.
He could go bankrupt. He could lose everything from his status and his mansion, the several cars he owned, all the way down to the very shoes he wore right now. His money, the company his family built; it could all go to hell.
He honestly didn't and couldn't care about anything else beyond her anymore.
His face grimaced at the marks he made on her neck. Marks that he caused from his uncontrolled rage. Not from his love of her. His fingers stroked the teeth marks he made in despair, remembering her cry out in pain.
There were even bruises on her wrists from the one point he held them down during his overexertion. She couldn't take anymore at that point, since he just kept going and going and she tried to tear herself from his grasp only for him to grab her and pin her. He continued while she helplessly screamed his name from the euphoric and mind bending pleasure that damn near tortured them both.
He didn't even realize he was gripping her wrists that tightly. The shapes of his fingers and hands were starting to form on them.
His teeth gritted and he berated himself.
She didn't deserve it.
"And without you, I watched the precious flower we both love begin wilting away...as if she needed you to truly live."
She truly didn't deserve such a response from him, after all her suffering. After everything he heard tonight from both her and Indra...
"I can't stop seeing you and her and…it hurts. It just hurts."
"Hmmm….Sas..uke...kun…" She mumbled and she moved towards his fingers, just as he lifted them from her in his despair. Her head fell to the side from trying to follow his fingers and it pained even more. The fingers that had been tenderly stroking her face, lowered to slowly graze the bruises on one of her wrists with remorse.
He was adamant on no one else having her. He refused for her to be with anyone else...and now he was questioning his own worthiness of being with her. He was no longer sure he deserved her. He wasn't sure if despite all the love he had and despite everything that was said, that he deserved to have her heart.
He let her go. He hurt her. She suffered over him. He shouldn't have let any of this happen and his inadequacy led to all this.
Fucking damn it, he loved her so much and he was so damn selfish that even while he questioned his worthiness, he was making all the excuses in the world of why she should still be with him. Why should he be the only one to stand by her side, and be her lover, he selfishly excused that it was because she wanted him to.
She cried for him at a misunderstanding. She wanted him to be hers and she wanted to be his. She said so. Even Indra said she only wanted him, despite when she said otherwise.
She cried...so much. She yelled and screamed with absolute grief that first night.
None of it was his fault...and he sure as hell couldn't blame her.
So, why did he hurt her!?
'Goddamnit!' He found himself mentally screaming and cursing at himself. His teeth clenched as he stroked the marks he furiously made, wanting to erase them.
Tonight was too much for him. He couldn't stand this. He felt like he just got through a goddamn whirlpool. A hurricane. Maybe a goddamn tornado. Whatever it was, he felt like a mess.
He hated knowing Sakura had been in such turmoil this whole time. He should have been happy that she called his name out at night but he could only hear it in the form of her pained voice. The same, broken voice she cried out to him as they spoke.
And he was at a loss for how all these emotions tumbling inside him were going to work out. He couldn't predict anything anymore and he never felt so powerless—
That was a lie...he did feel this way once before. Not to this extent, but it was just a small portion of this powerlessness he felt right now. Back then, it stemmed from the overwhelming desire that had been birthed inside him for her. Back then, he had been frustrated and angry to not have her against him, or in his arms as he pleased because of children being in his way.
Another man just made it worse. It intensified and amplified that feeling he felt then, and it was yet another realization. He really couldn't love anyone else. Sakura had him in entirety and he was powerless against her.
He always had been and he always would be...and it made him lash out this time. No one would ever know how she drove him to this point. Not even himself. Not even the very woman that made him like this to begin with.
That fact was apparent from day one, if he thought back on it. She had always made him lose control of himself without meaning to. All his rigorous lessons of composure, logic, analysis, all of it had always flown right out the window whenever it concerned her. From the moment he watched Uncle Uncle drunkenly grab her in Cafe Blanche, and on, she made him lose all reason he could ever have or maintain.
This time, all that loss of sanity was complete and explosive—for all the reasons. For loving her. For wanting to be the only man she loved. For knowing she had been in the arms of another man. For fearing for her safety. For missing her so damn much.
He simply lost his mind over everything. The moment she left. Just like he told her.
That's how powerless he was against her. He was literally at her beck and call, even when he couldn't be there. She was his entire world.
"Sasuke...kun…" She whimpered again and his eyes cringed. Sasuke remained silent, staring down at her with pained adoration.
Gently, he lifted her and got into the bed. He sat up with his back against the headboard of the bed and held her in his arms possessively and protectively. After bringing the sheet over them both and with his blazer wrapped loosely around her shoulders, he held her as close and as tight as he could, without disturbing her. He obsessively stroked through her hair and parts of her skin he missed.
Her face. Her shoulder. Her hand. Gods, he missed her. He was exhausted; mind, body and soul, yet, now that he had her in his arms again, after what felt to him like forever, all he wanted was to stare at her. He wanted to feel and stare at her all night.
Would he even ever get over all this? Was he going to have to have her watched twenty-four/seven, like his father did for his mother, just to ease his mind? He just might.
If his feelings were anywhere near like his father's, as everyone who knew him kept implying, he now saw the reason his father so reveredly cherished and held his mother to the highest importance. If his father saw her as the invaluable gem he saw Sakura as, he completely understood why his mother was catered to from dawn to late night.
Now he understood why whenever his mother went out, she was always joined by two guards and Sebastian. He used to think it was excessive. He used to think it was unnecessary but whenever he bothered to question how necessary it was;
"Young Master, all treasures of your House, especially the most priceless and invaluable, must be the most taken care of."
All his invaluables...all his treasures, the one he held the most important and precious was the one in his arms. No matter what she put him through these last few days. He really just might implement his father's actions for his mother, to Sakura.
Or he could go the even more extreme route and implant a tracker in her, like he really wanted to after going through all this.
His eyes shut to rest them and his head leaned back. He hadn't had a good night's rest since she left and now that she was in his arms, he felt comfortably tired. He could finally rest and it was a relief.
In the last few days...he probably only slept for about a total of seven or eight hours? That included his short nap earlier and the rest was merely when he'd close his eyes for minutes at a time before he was on the move again. That was probably another reason he went crazy, wasn't it? He was sleep deprived.
He felt Sakura shift against him and in reaction, his eyes opened again. They darted frantically down to her, as she removed her buried face from his neck, only to lay a bit more on his chest.
"Sasuke-kun…" She moaned lightly in her sleep. As gently as he could, his hand cupped her chin and lifted her face a bit towards him again. Her face was scrunched a bit. She curled a bit against him...and started whimpering quietly. He watched her closed eyelids scrunch and tear.
What was she dreaming about right now? Obviously him, but her dream was making her cry and that was what he didn't want. He should be loving her in her dreams. She should be feeling his arms wrapped around her as they were now. Or was she crying because of that?
Was this proof of Indra's claims? Even in her sleep...even passed out drunk, even when he had certainly exhausted her, she had been crying for him all this time. Now he was wondering if that's another reason why he had been going crazy. Maybe because he felt her calling out to him this whole time.
Was it even that feeling he felt the first night and others when she was gone? Whenever he heard the ghost of her voice call for him, was it because he really was hearing her call his name? Did their love go that far? He couldn't tell anymore. He didn't know where it ended or began…because now it didn't seem like it started in Cafe Blanche.
If they were both like this, for each other, this wasn't even the gist of it. The day he laid his eyes on her wasn't where it started either.
Like he told Indra, it was just infinite. It consumed him in entirety, and it radicalized him like tonight. And it seemed Sakura couldn't help but feel the same way. It seemed she was just as cursed to love him in this life as he was to love her.
Like always. Since the beginning.
"I'm here, my love…" He pressed his lips against her forehead, leaving soft pecks here and there. He had so much to make up to her for. He had so much to atone to her for and he'd start the way he always did...by loving her as much as he could.
There was nothing else he could do. There was no other option and no other way out. She couldn't leave him ever again. She couldn't be with anyone else and neither could he.
So all he could do was love her...and apologize for all the wrongs, even those that weren't his and for being an absolute, selfish bastard who couldn't let her go. He apologized for loving her ever so selfishly and for the fact that he was never and would never be able to stop loving her.
"I'm sorry…my love, I'm so sorry." He whispered against her skin, wiping the droplet he could before it could fall, though, he could feel her other eye against him wet his neck a bit. He watched the one eye he could see hazily open just a bit. Her vision was blurry and his sounded in echoes. But his voice was so gentle and tender...this reminded her of something.
Way back...when she was cradled in the arms of a frowning man and the blurry vision of brown neck length hair and a tender tone.
I'm sorry this happened to you.
"I'm so sorry all of this happened. I'm sorry for everything." Now, similar frowning lips...this time neck length black hair and a tender voice that loved her more than anything in this world. His fingers lovingly stroked from her hair and down to her neck and her eyes closed from comfort, because she knew who it was.
Sasuke. It was her Sasuke.
"…Sasuke-kun...I...love you..." She mumbled for the thousandth time tonight. His jaw tightened and he held her closer. His other hand moved to grab her hand, enwrapping their fingers and lifting it to his own. He rubbed the back of her hand against his cheek, still having their fingers folded over each others, though hers were limp. His eyes closed just to feel her skin against his face.
"I love you too…I love you, so, so much and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you…" He mumbled with remorse, kissing her bruised wrist lovingly. She faintly heard him, already giving way to unconsciousness again. His eyebrows lifted, unsure if she was hearing him now, but he continued anyway.
"I'm sorry I let you go…I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner." By the heavens...he was a selfish bastard. He acknowledged it, and didn't care. The selfish bastard he was, he could never and would never let her go to any other, even if it was what she wanted.
He was never going to let her go again and even if he did, she would be somewhere he could return to find her. He'd always know where she was. Who she was with.
And she was always going to come back to him. She was always going to wait for him and she would always know his rightful place at her side and she at his.
"Even if you can't hear me right now...I'm sorry for everything. And I'll say it again when you're awake. I promise." He apologized again, holding her head in his other hand close to his. He curled over her to be as close as he possibly could. His other hand still toyed with her hair and his lips were over hers.
"Make...Sakura happy."
He had to hand it to the man he hated. He made such a grave and stupid sacrifice that, after tonight, Sasuke was certain he would never be able to make, unless there was a gun pointed at her. The gun had to be pointed at her because he wouldn't give a damn if it was pointed at him.
They better shoot him, if they thought he would hand her off to another man, ever for any reason, even her own.
Indra let her go…
"And if you fail, I won't hesitate to take her away from you again."
And he promised the bastard, he wouldn't let his stupidity go to waste.
'What a fucking fool.' He thought as he tilted her head back and kissed her lips.
BOOM! KABOOM! CRASH!
Naruto: GODDAMNIT LONE WOLF! WHY'D YOU LET TEME AND INDRA FACE EACH OTHER?! -running-
I didn't think it'd get this bad! It's just a story! -running-
Naruto: AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO DESTROY THE VILLAGE OVER IT!
I feel like I've reminded you before that you're the Hokage of said village and—
Sakura: -dashes past- SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!
( O.O ) -stops- Wait. Sakura's running? Why the hell—
Naruto: I think I already see why. ( O.O )''''''''
Sasuke/Indra: -flies by chasing after Sakura-
Sasuke: SAKURA! TELL THIS ASSHOLE YOU LOVE ME!
Indra: I know you don't remember, but you were mine in another life as well!
Sasuke: FUCK YOU! THAT MEANS SHE WAS MINE!
Indra: IT WAS MY LIFE UCHIHA! YOU AND YOUR FOREFATHERS WEREN'T EVEN A THOUGHT!
...I think we're gonna have to save Sakura this time...
Naruto: ...From two men who are practically the same and are willing to kill anything that gets in their way to her?
...Good point. See ya next chap!
Naruto: -face palms-