Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.
Word Count: 1,872
Sakura stared at the house in front of her, a mixture of surprise and relief bubbling inside her.
It was the complete opposite of what she had originally expected. She had imagined Sasori living in a large, fancy mansion, in a shady forest or something hidden far away. She mentally berated herself for thinking that. The house before her was completely normal. It was a simple two-story house with a balcony on the second floor, and a path leading to what she assumed could only be a garden.
"I thought you'd live in a mansion or something like that" She admitted.
Sasori gave her a short glance before making his way to the door.
"I don't need that much room" his response was short and simple.
Sakura followed him inside, and dropped her suitcase, baffled.
The living room has to be... The most, plain room she had ever seen. The walls and carpet were both white, and the only furniture in the room was a large flat screen TV and a leather couch and table. Sakura noticed the withering plants by the stairs.
"Um, don't you think it's a bit... 'Empty' in here, Akasuna-san?" She asked nervously.
Sasori shrugged as he threw the car keys on to the glass table, "I hardly stay here anyways," he turned to her "the kitchen is that way... You can go make yourself some tea or whatever you want to drink" he then made his way to the stairs.
"Wait!" Sakura called out quickly, and the red-haired man turned his head
"What do you want?"
"Um, well," Sakura honestly didn't know why she called out. She guess she just didn't want to be down here by herself "where will I be staying?"
Sasori let out an exasperated sigh "In my room, duh"
Sakura was sure her eyes were as wide as saucers and that her jaw could have reached the ground.
"W-what?" She cried out.
The red-head rolled his eyes "What sort of married couple sleeps in different rooms? Don't fret, I'll take the couch at night"
Sakura calmed slightly "O-ok.."
Sasori smirked,
"Don't flatter yourself. As if I'd want to sleep with a brat like you" his tone was almost mocking.
The shock within the pinkette soon melted into fury.
"As if anyone would want to sleep with a jerk like you!"
"Now is that a tone you'd use at your boss?" He drawled.
Sakura shut her mouth immediately. The geezer did have a point, only slightly.
"I thought so"
She was sure she caught a smug look on Sasori's face before he disappeared up the stairs.
Sakura grumbled as she dropped her suitcase on the couch and made her way to where the kitchen was supposed to be.
The kitchen was plain as well, with marble counters and a metal sink. It had the normal things you'd find in a kitchen. The fridge, microwave, oven and a kettle. But other than that, there was nothing. Not even a vase of flowers or a basket of fruit.
She was further shocked as she looked through the basically empty fridge and cupboards. What did the guy eat everyday?
Finally finding the tea, she waited patiently for the kettle to finish boiling the water.
There was a window in the kitchen that allowed her to see outside and into the garden. The only few things in the garden was a small pond and large tree.
I wonder what type of tree is that? Sasori doesn't seem like the gardening type, she mused. An image of Sasori gardening popped into her head and she giggled. The whistling of the kettle quickly snapped her back into reality.
She quickly finished making her tea before she paused, should she make Sasori one and bring it up to him? Well, he was quite rude to her earlier, but they were going to live together for a month, so she supposed she could at least attempt to be friendly. With that thought in mind, she ventured upstairs with the teacup on a tray she had found in one of the cupboards.
Sakura stared at the many doors on top of the stairs. Four doors. Which one led to Sasori?
The pinkette shrugged, before knocking on the doors. She was on the third before she heard someone snap from behind her.
"What do you want now, brat?"
Sakura yelped in surprise, and dropped the tray in her hands, the teacup shattering into tiny pieces and the boiling liquid seeped through the thin fabric of her white slippers and onto her toes.
Sakura took a step back and winced as she felt the burning liquid on her toes.
Sasori frowned from behind her and Sakura quickly bowed apologetically.
"I'm sorry! I'll clean this up right away, I only wanted to give you some tea!" She squealed out.
The pinkette quickly crouched down to pick up the shattered pieces of the broken cup, before a pair of pale hands took the shards away from her hands.
"Huh?" Sakura looked up to see Sasori crouching down in front of her, picking up the pieces.
"I can do this, Akasuna-san!" Sakura insisted.
Sasori didn't look up as he spoke "I can do it, besides, you should go change your pants and your slippers"
Sakura blinked quickly and looked down, oh, she had spilt some tea on her jeans.
"Thank you Akasuna-san!" She got up and rushed downstairs to get her suitcase.
After changing her jeans and getting a new pair of slippers, Sakura hesitantly made her way up the stairs. The carpet was rid of all teacup shards, but the brown liquid stained the white carpet. She hoped she wouldn't end up cleaning that.
Sakura knocked on the last door she hadn't checked yet, and when she heard no response she opened the door slowly and walked in.
It was a study of some sorts, with book shelves lined up on all sides of the wall, a desk and that was all. There were a few paintings which hanged on the wall that Sakura found to be absolutely amazing.
"I didn't say you could come in" Sasori deadpanned from behind the desk.
Sakura frowned "I'm sorry, I was just checking up on you"
"I'm not a child. I can pick up a few broken cup pieces without cutting myself"
She huffed, what was with this guy? He was nice a while ago, and now he's back to Mr Grumpy.
"Well forgive me for being concerned"
Sasori glanced up at her before looking back down at whatever he was reading before.
Sakura frowned, he obviously wasn't going to say anymore.
She walked closer to the desk and looked at the folder he was reading. The pinkette frowned as Sasori snapped the folder shut and placed it inside a drawer.
He looked at her, and Sakura took this as a cue for her to speak, ignoring the annoyed look in those brown eyes.
"What type of tree is that in the back garden? You don't look like the gardening type," Sakura quickly added "no offence of anything"
Sasori stayed quiet, and it seemed he was deep in thought.
Sakura sighed, guess he wasn't going to tell her anything... She made her way to the door before she was stopped.
"My mother... Liked apple trees"
The pinkette turned, and the red-haired man sighed before reluctantly continuing.
"My mother and father... passed away in an accident when I was five, so I never got to know them well..." Sasori glanced away, the wooden floor suddenly were most interesting "This tree used to belong at the home where I used to live with my parents. My mother really liked this tree, or at least that's what I remember. So before the old house was sold, I got them to move the tree over here"
"Wouldn't that be really troublesome?" Sakura questioned.
Sasori nodded, "And so is looking after it"
Sakura was deep in thought. That tree had obviously meant immensely to Sasori, but at the state it was in, it was obvious the guy didn't have time or didn't know how to take care of it.
"If you want, I can look after it for you" She offered.
Sasori looked at her, traces of surprise in those brown eyes, before they changed into suspicion.
"I won't pay you any extra for it, you know?"
Her eyes rolled "What do you take me for? I won't ask for any extra money, you're already paying me enough. And plus, you were willing to tell me about your parents..." She trailed off before adding the last part thoughtfully "Even if it was a little"
He shrugged "Do what you want, and plus," he looked at her, eyes making contact "it'll be weird if you didn't know about it. We are pretending to be married"
Oh yeah, that's right... After talking to him for a bit, she completely forgot about the pretend to be married thing.
"Speaking of which... Why do you need to pretend to have a wife? I thought you'd be the type who have woman fawn over you where ever you go"
Sasori smirked slightly "It is true. But I don't want someone who would be unwilling to leave once the month ends"
"I see... But it doesn't explain why you need to pretend to be married"
The smirk faltered and a sigh was heard, "I've applied for work at a private all girls school and you can only teach their if you're married"
"Why?"
"Over paranoid parents I guess, now would you be quiet and listen?"
"Sorry! Go on, I won't interrupt"
Sasori cleared his throat "Anyways, I said during my interview that I had recently just gotten married, but a few teachers there have sniffed around recently. And I can't get fired, not before I confirm something"
Sakura waited for him to say more, but he didn't, and she felt like she shouldn't pry any deeper so she left it at that. But she still felt a tug of disappointment at him not telling her more.
The pinkette smiled at him "Thank you for sharing all that with me, Akasuna-san"
Sasori shrugged before pulling out the folder and opening it up.
"By the way, what are we going to have for dinner?" She tilted her head as she asked.
"Just order take out or something" He didn't look up from the folder.
Sakura frowned, "Having takeout all the time isn't good for you!"
The red-head sighed in exasperation,
"If you want, you can go buy something from the supermarket tomorrow. But just order takeout for tonight"
Sakura nodded, only slightly satisfied with that response as she headed to the door.
"And Haruno?"
"Yea?"
"Don't forget to clean up that stain"
Damn.
As soon as the pinkette left the room, Sasori placed the folder on to the desk and leaned back into the chair.
This was the only living suspect of the case, the one which claimed the live of his parents. The only remaining family members he had. Sasori glanced at the name on the folder,
"Suna Ebizo..." He narrowed his eyes "I will get the truth out of you, no matter what"
Two Chapters in a day, basically because I felt the last chapter was way too short.
I greatly appreciate all those who have liked and are following this story. Thanks to all of you I'm motivated to continue writing. :)
The next chapter will be up before next week Wednesday (Or Thursday, depends on if I can manage my time probably) And we have cross-country tomorrow, please save me someone! .
But can any of you guess what type of "accident" Sasori's parents were involved in and who Ebizo is? (His last name is obviously fake...)
