Dreams of blood and tattered clothing plagued my sleep to the point that I woke up in a cold sweat panic. I was in my own room all by myself. What happened to Sasuke? Was he angry that I'd vomited in front of him? My cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Of course I'd make a fool of myself in front of a gorgeous guy like him. They quickly cooled back down as I thought about why I'd been panicking to begin with.
What really happened last night? By the look of the sky outside my window it was nearly nighttime, so I'd slept all day long yet still felt drained. Was it because of the blood loss? My hand shot to my throat to search for the source of the blood, but only felt smooth skin. Was it someone else's blood then? I shook my head to myself and ran a shaky hand through my damp hair.
No. I had a strong inkling that it was my blood. The memory of those red eyes ran shivers through my spine. They'd all warned me about Itachi and they were all right. He'd been back not one day and I'd been attacked.
I crawled over to sit in my window sill, the only place that helped me feel calm in this crazy place. What had happened to Madara? Why hadn't he protected me from Itachi like he'd insinuated he would? My eyes started to droop with exhaustion once again as I looked at the twinkling lights of the city in the far distance. They looked like Christmas lights from this distance. I'd have to just ask Madara tomorrow after dinner about what had happened. Maybe it was all just a dream...
Despite my confusion about what had happened, I woke in the morning and began my chores as usual. Once I'd dressed, I headed downstairs to collect any laundry that may need done. As soon as I knocked on Sasuke's door, it swung open and the mysterious young man towered over me with his usual brooding expression. "Good morning, sir. Did you sleep well?" There was a pause as the attractive prince looked over me as though it were his first time ever actually noticing me.
My face started to heat up just as his gaze swept back up to my face, "Yes." He stepped aside so I could enter his room. To my surprise, it was almost as clean as I'd left it. His room was always trashed when I stopped by. What had changed? Was it because of what had happened yesterday?
The blood left my face as dread slipped over me. Was he angry at me? Had he cleaned up a bit so I wouldn't be in his room as long, therefore I wouldn't be bothering him as much? I turned on my heel to face him, "Oh! I just wanted to apologize for...you know..what happened," I leaned forward into a bow, but he cut me off, "I don't know what you're talking about, " and he walked past me to lounge on his bed and stuff his face into a book. The sheer speed of his reply had me believing that he did, in fact, know what I was referring to, but I didn't push the subject.
Mikoto had warned me that he could be short tempered and I didn't intend to witness that first hand. I rose back up and gave a nod, beginning my work for the day. I finished much quicker than usual and hurriedly headed to leave the room with an armful of clothing. Sasuke's deep voice stopped me in my tracks, "Come back to my room this evening after dinner." It wasn't a request, but an order. My face felt as though it had paled and turned blood red all at once. I turned to look at him, but he remained reclining on his bed with his face in a book, paying me and my panic no mind.
Awkwardly, I exited his room and shut the door behind me. He wouldn't expect me to have sex with him, would he? Of course I don't want to, but I'd be punished if I refused. For the rest of the day, I couldn't take my mind off Sasuke. My anxiety over what he wanted after dinner helped distract me from whatever had happened yesterday. Once we were all seated at the dinner table, I poked at my steak with my fork.
I'd learned that Mikoto and Fugaku cooked all meals and quite enjoyed doing so to the point that they didn't have any kitchen help. That fact helped humanize them slightly from the untouchable way they came across. It was undoubtedly obvious that the two were very much in love. Fugaku was a fierce and stern man with a soft spot only for his wife. Mikoto knew about that soft spot and often took advantage of it to get what she wanted, but you could tell that she appreciated everything he did for her. I absentmindedly stared as they shared a loving look as Madara complimented their cooking, before returning my gaze to my barely-touched plate.
"Sakura, dear, is there something wrong with your food?" I jumped as I was pulled from my daze by Mikoto's motherly voice. Everyone was staring at me, minus Sasuke and Itachi. I shook my head quickly, "No, ma'am. I seem to have lost my appetite. My apologies." Fugaku glared at me as Mikoto put a soft hand against my forehead, "Oh, dear. I hope you're not getting sick. Why don't you head to bed early and I'll wrap your food so you can eat it later."
I nodded and gave her a small smile in thanks before quietly leaving the table and heading towards the staircase. I could feel six pairs of eyes burning a hole into my back as I retreated. I could feel one pair in particular burning harder than the rest and that pair would belong to Sasuke. Instead of laying in bed as Mikoto had requested, I opted to prepare a hot bath to soothe my muscles.
After stripping my body of every piece of clothing and starting the bath, I looked at my reflection in the large mirror beside the towel cabinet. The once dark bruises that had littered my body were now a faint yellow that was on the edge of blending into my lightly tanned skin. It'd been six days since I'd arrived at the Uchiha Castle and I already could barely recognize my own reflection. My skin, once in a constant state of uncleanliness, was clear and smooth. My once dark green eyes seemed many shade lighter than I remember. Was it the lighting that made them seem different?
Everything else on my body seemed normal. My breasts were still below average in size and my torso and legs were the same. My gaze drifted to my neck. Not a single mark marred the clear skin. Had everything really been a dream? The memory of those spinning red eyes had goose bumps showing up on my body. With a shake of my head, I did my best to push all thoughts away and climbed into the bubble bath that I'd prepared.
After washing my body and hair, I relaxed and let the simmering water ease my aching muscles. Maybe Mikoto was I was sick and that whole incident was a lucid dream. Oh, crap! I'd forgotten to ask Madara about last night before leaving! I sank down lower until the water was nearly at my nose. This tub was like a miniature pool, deep enough that I could stand up straight in it and the water would still reach my shoulders.
"You don't follow directions well." My shriek was interrupted by water flowing into my mouth and I soon erupted into a fit of coughs. Through my struggle to breath, I glanced over to see Sasuke leaning against the towel closet with his arms crossed and an annoyed glare on his eyes. He didn't even have the decency to avert his gaze, looking straight at me. Thankfully, the bubbles in my bath hid my body from his view, but that didn't make the situation any more comfortable for me.
Once my airways were clear again, I sank down as low as I could in the water without going under, "Sasuke! W-What're you doing in here!" All of my fake manners left the room as my shock took over. The man stayed silent for a moment, content to just watch me struggle to reach my towel, which was a few feet away on top of the closed toilet lid, without showing my chest to him and failing. Anger was quickly overshadowing my embarrassment, "Get the hell out! Are you crazy?" His glare hardened and his arms uncrossed. I pulled my arm back under water and moved as far away from him as possible as he steadily approached the bath.
There was a sarcastic smirk on his lips as he rasped out in his deep voice, "Why, Miss Haruno, how did you develop such a sharp tongue so quickly?" He was mocking me. It was obvious that he knew I was very much a different person when he and his family weren't near. I tried to swallow the snarky reply that came out, but it was no use, "I don't expect someone like you to understand how I feel." Venom coated each of my words.
He and his family may be beautiful and kind to me, but they were responsible for the state of my town. Having an attractive appearance doesn't make up for the terrible things they let happen to good people. The man took his time processing my words, his black eyes searching mine. I couldn't help but admire the hard planes of his face. It was rare for him to look at me so directly.
Before I could react, he'd removed his shirt and was working on unbuttoning his pants. A squeal of surprise slipped through my lips and my face started heating up. I turned my head to the side and covered my face with my hands, "What are you doing!" I felt the water move with his obvious entrance to the bath. Was he completely nude? I dared to sneak a peek through my fingers.
Sasuke had both of his arms resting casually on the edge of the large bath and his eyes were focused on me. I reluctantly relaxed back down into the bath, everything but my head completely under the bubbles. For a few moments, we just stared at each other. The bath was just large enough that both of us could be inside without touching, but it would take little effort for him to corner me. My face was getting hotter and hotter under his ever-searching gaze. Before long, I was becoming light-headed with the mix of the hot water surrounding our bodies, his gaze, and the steam filling the air of the room. Just before I could think of a plan to escape this situation, his deep voice stole my focus, "Sakura, let's make a deal."
My lower abdomen tingled at the sound of my name so informal on his voice, but I hid my arousal easily and waited for him to continue. "You can drop the formal act if you agree to move into my bedroom." I forgot about my predicament momentarily and glared at him, "Why would I agree to that?" In a blink, he was directly in front of me his his hands on either side of my shoulders, locking me into place between him and the back of the bath. Our bodies didn't touch, but just the thought of how close they were had me going mad with embarrassment. I've never been close to a man like this.
His smirk was gone and his usual moody scowl was present, "Your bedroom door has no lock." The blood drained from my face and I thought about it. So what I thought was a lucid dream actually happened? I searched his gaze for any hint of ill-intent and found nothing out of the ordinary. I could sense his annoyance with me, but I could tell he didn't want to hurt me. The question that remains is why would he care whether or not Itachi gets to me?
With a sigh, I realized what was really going on. Sasuke and Sai had both been in love with the previous housekeeper and Itachi had raped and murdered her. The guilt of that must be controlling his actions. He must think that protecting me will make up for him not protecting her. Who was she anyway? She couldn't have meant that much to either of them if they both went right back to sleeping with a different girl every other night.
Despite their playboy tendencies, they'd both shown signs of authentic caring towards my well-being and that alone had me silently nodding in agreement to the dark man's proposal. His breath was cool on my face despite the heat of the room and there was a long pause before either of us moved again. I was physically shaking with nerves. I'd yet to even kiss a man, much less be in a bathtub naked with one. He moved back to his side of the bath wordlessly, eyes never leaving mine, "I will gather your items and move them while you finish bathing." Without any notice, he stood up.
Another squeal left my lips and I hurried to bury my face in my hands to avoid seeing any body parts I didn't want to, "My god, Sasuke! Give me a warning!" I heard his deep snicker before the sounds of him drying, redressing, and leaving the bathroom. I peeked through my fingers just to be sure he was really gone. Once I was sure I was alone. I sank underwater and let out a frustrated scream that was muffled by the bubbles. I arrived in front of Sasuke's room in a fluffy black bathrobe and a red face.
After pacing back and forth a few times to try and handle my anxiety, I finally brewed up the courage to knock on the black door. A few moments passed before the door opened up and a shirtless Sasuke was revealed. After just a moment in his presence, I could tell there was a difference in his being. He was no longer teasing me and was back to behaving how he normally would around me. I averted my eyes and stepped past him when he gestured to do so. He shut the door silently behind me, walking past me to return to his usual spot reclining on his bed with a book in hand.
I stood awkwardly for a moment before realizing that there was no second bed in this large room. "Um...Where will I sleep?" Without moving his gaze from the cover-less book he was reading, he spoke in his usual annoyed voice, "On the bed." A dirty thought of him pressing his body against my back in the night had my face heating even more, "I don't think so! I'll..." I looked around the over-sized room before noticing a small couch on the other side of his bed, "I'll sleep on the couch!" He looked away from his book to shoot me a glare, but didn't say anything as I retrieved my pillows and blankets from the small pile of items he'd taken from my room and headed over to the previously mentioned piece of furniture.
I arranged my pillow and blankets on the couch and sat down, letting my body be swallowed by the over-sized comforter as I glanced around the room. With a sigh, I glanced over to see that he, too, had a large window sill, but it was blocked partially by a dresser and covered with black curtains. Sadness bit at my heart as my one comfort in the palace was taken away in exchange for my safety. I continued taking in the room, noticing the small details that I hadn't noticed when I was cleaning before.
My eyes slid onto a large bookshelf, lined to the brim with book after book. Hope filled my body and I glanced over to see that Sasuke was watching me. With a red face, I motioned with my hand to the bookshelf, "May I?" He glanced over at the shelf in what seemed to be confusion before giving a curt nod and returning to his own book.
I unwrapped my body from my comforter and approached the large shelf slowly. I've never seen books of this quality or quantity in one spot before! After browsing for a few minutes, I selected one of the larger books that seemed to be more worn down than the others. That meant that Sasuke, or someone, had read it more than the others.
Perhaps if I read his favorite book, I'd be able to understand him a bit better. After I carefully pulled the book from it's place, I turned to return to my makeshift bed. Sasuke seemed to be making a point to not look at me, even going as far as to turning onto his side with his back facing me. I made a face at his back before re-wrapping myself in my blanket and crossing my legs before opening the book to page 1. Before I could even read the first sentence, his deep voice interrupted, "What is wrong with you?"
I glanced up from the page and nearly shrieked in surprise. He was crouched in front of me with a clear look of confusion on his features. Despite my discomfort, I replied, "What are you talking about?" He searched my face for a moment before quickly leaning forward and attempting to pull me towards him. Heat tinted my face red. Was he trying to kiss me?
I put my arms up to hold him at bay by his shoulders in panic, "What do you think you're doing!" He shook his head in disbelief and fell gently back onto his bottom, releasing his gentle grip on my cheek. "That's what I'm talking about." It took me a moment to realize what he meant and I regretfully admit to feeling slightly sorry for him. He wasn't used to a woman not throwing herself at him.
It was likely that he'd never run into a woman who would rather read a book than straddle him. Even if I felt sorry for him, I replied as honestly as I could without letting my emotions take over, "You've never met a woman who is from the low-class, have you?" His eyes continued searching my face for a moment before he rose to his feet and returned to his bed. I took that as a no.