Naruto: Sakura's Revenge

Part Four

Sasuke locked the door behind him and walked over to the phone. The answering machine showed that there was a single message. 'Must be from Ino,' Sasuke thought as he pressed play. 'I hope she's sending me the money for the rent.'

[BEEP!]

"Hey, Sasuke. It's me," Ino's voice came from the machine. Sasuke noticed the tone in her voice. He had heard it before, only it came from Sakura on that day she threw him out. "I'm not coming back to Kabukicho. You should have seen this coming. Now I know why Sakura wanted nothing to do with you. I thought it would be cool to date you, but your temper is something else."

'My temper?' Sasuke thought. 'I haven't attacked her. I yelled at her, but I didn't touch her, unless she meant the time I kicked her out the door and out the window. Damn bitch gave me that reflex.'

"I'm not coming back to Japan," Ino continued. "I met someone who doesn't use me as a human punching bag and who loves me for me. I'm sorry about this, Sasuke, but I can't deal with this anymore..."

Sasuke clicked the answering machine off as he slowly digested what had happened.

Ino had abandoned him. Just like the others before.

With a savage yell, Sasuke knocked the phone and answering machine to the ground, with the phone and answering machine shattering on impact. Before he could start tearing the room apart, there was a knock on the door.

"Uchiha?" It's Yuko Ichihara," the landlord said through the door.

Sasuke sighed as he unlocked the door and opened it, allowing the landlord to enter. Yuko was nice enough in allowing him and Ino to stay here, but how would she take it if he told her that Ino wasn't coming back, that she was starting over in Fiji without him?

Yuko looked at the destoryed phone and answering machine. "Ino told you about not coming back?" she asked.

Sasuke looked up. "She told you first, didn't she?" he asked.

Yuko nodded. Were Sasuke was paying any attention, he would have noticed that the look Yuko was giving him wasn't that of phony sympathy - and had something else she had in mind. "I'm here to let you know that if you can't come up with the rent by noon tomorrow, you're gonna have to leave."

"There's no way I can get the rent money in by tomorrow," Sasuke objected. "I need more time."

Yuko shook her head. "Sorry. I'm already pushing my luck in allowing you to stay here. I need the cash." She then paused for a moment. "Unless we come to some sort of arrangement..."

"What kind of arrangement?" Sasuke asked blindly. His expression then changed from worried to disgust as he realized what Yuko meant by 'arrangement.' "No way. Forget it." Now he was yelling. "There is no way I am going to do that to pay for the rent!"

Yuko closed the door behind her. "There is no other way." She looked at what Sasuke was wearing: a white collared shirt underneath a black vest, red tie, black trousers, and a pair of black shoes. He also had his eyeglasses on. "You're a very handsome man, Sasuke. Why you want to work in a bookstore when you could make more work as a host for one of the host bars is beyond me. I can see why Ino was smitten with you."

"Get out of my home!!" Sasuke shouted as he grabbed the nearest item he could get his good hand on, which was a baseball bat. "I will never use my body to pay for the rent, you goddamn pervert!!"

Yuko shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. Have it your way. I'm sure the police would be interested in knowing your whereabouts following the little stunt you pulled six months ago," she said coolly. Off of Sasuke's shocked impression, Yuko grinned. She had him right where she wanted him. "Of course, I know about what had happened at Todai. Ino told me. Now the question is this: are you willing to pay for the rent, or do I call the cops? I can make it very convincing that I won't be arrested for harboring a fugitive. So what do you say, Sasuke?"