Sacrifice and Surrender

5: Conflict

Sakura was awakened by a light hand shaking her shoulder. She blinked her eyes a few times, they felt heavy and puffy and it seemed far too early to be time to wake up. She realised with some shock that she didn't know where she was. The scent of the blankets was unfamiliar, yet she felt like she's smelled it before. She was in bed. She sat up suddenly and look around until her eyes fell on a familiar figure standing some distance away from her.

Then she remembered the previous night. She looked away from Madara and realised that he must've taken her back to his house, which made sense since it was closer than hers. Her face felt warm with shame.

"I thought you'd like to go home before we meet this afternoon," Madara said after a moment. "It's just before dawn, the village is still sleeping."

She took a breath and nodded, looking over at him. He leaned against the wall. His hair was tied back, it was the first time she'd ever seen it like that. He wasn't looking directly at her, but she could see that he probably hadn't slept and that she was likely in his bed.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly.

She pushed back the blankets and got out of the bed. Slightly panicked and then relieved when she felt the other half of the bed was stone cold. It was large and modern which was a little surprising. She had always thought he was a little more traditional. She wondered where he had been while she slept. She caught sight of her feet and she cringed. They were covered in dirt. She looked at the white sheets.

"I can wash these," she said apologetically.

Madara shook his head.

"It's not important." He handed her a light blanket. "I'll walk you home. There are some sandals that should fit you outside the door."

He left her sitting on his bed and Sakura bit her lip when he was gone. She took a moment to look around Madara's bedroom. It was simple, and a little surprising. The wooden floors and walls were polished and clean. The bed was quite grand. The window was large let in a nice amount of light, with sheer curtains. A small table had wooden carvings of different animals on them, mostly hawks, which Sakura suspected that he had made himself. She didn't want to pry too much, so she quickly wiped her tired face with the inside of her robe, brushed her fingers through her hair and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders before she walked out to Madara.

She stared at him, strangely conflicted by how she was feeling. The previous night felt like she'd become so vulnerable around him. He'd seen her at a terrible moment, saved her from doing something awful that she was going to regret. Yet, with his hair up, she couldn't stop thinking that he looked very handsome. She felt so guilty and ashamed and overwhelmed.

She kept her head down as they walked. She felt so uneasy around him, she held onto the blanket around her shoulders tightly.

"How did you know I was there?" She asked.

Madara was quiet for a moment. "I was awake and I felt your chakra."

"It was the middle of the night, why were you awake?"

"You're not the only one who has trouble sleeping," he replied quietly.

Sakura didn't respond. Nightmares, she guessed. Like her.

They walked silently through the forested roads from the Uchiha compound into the village. Sakura's steps were a little smaller and slower than usual, and she was aware that Madara had slowed his own pace to match hers. She felt a strange prickle of irritation towards him.

Why was he always so close to her? He always seemed to appear, and just be there whenever she had some kind of fall or stumble. What did he want from her? She stopped walking.