-XXX-

"Excuse me! Is anyone home?" She knew it was rude to enter someone else's house without permission, but after all, she was moving here and it was raining outside. That kind of excuses her, doesn't it? Besides, it's their fault for not locking the door. What if someone dangerous broke in? 'No surprise, really. This place is known amongst the neighborhood for being haunted.'

Sakura looked around, but there wasn't much to see. No lights on and no signs of life. Only a small light, presumably at the end of the hallway, made it possible to see a bright red carpet that apparently stretched across the entire hallway. 'Me, a person related to the church, living in a house where ghosts are rumored to appear… That must be some sort of joke, right?'

"That's funny." She said sarcastically to herself. "Maybe they weren't told I was coming today."

'I have arrived at the address, but no one seems to be here. However, the door was unlocked, so that must mean someone is here.'

"I'm Kizashi Haruno's daughter! I believe you've already heard of my from my father. I'm coming in, okay?" Sakura closed the door behind her anyway and boldly stepped inside. This place is huge, and Sakura had no doubt that she could get lost here without blinking an eye. The slight light she noticed at the door turned out to be a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging above the staircase. "Hello?" She called again, someone must be home. Should she go upstairs? Isn't that too intrusive?

Maybe her father made a mistake announcing it. Sakura doesn't want her father to worry, but she probably won't have any choice but to call him. She can't just keep on standing here…

*Lightning strikes again.*

"Bloody hell!" Sakura gasped in fright when she saw the silhouette of a person in the light of the thunder.

'Thank you! Finally!'

It's impossible to describe how relieved Sakura was when she noticed a figure lying on the couch to her right, directly below the window. Someone was home after all. How could she not have noticed him before? "Excuse me, do you live in this house?" No answer.

"Um, excuse me..." She left her suitcase in place and walked over to the man. A sleeping man, apparently, from the looks of it. He seemed to be the same age as her. 'Is he sleeping? But this person…'

'He's quite handsome...' She thought to herself as she looked at him. Well, the word 'handsome' doesn't do him justice in any way. His spiky black hair with a blue tint hung over his face as bangs and his sharply defined jaw... Not to mention his snow-white skin, which must be velvety to the touch...

'Enough of these thoughts, get a grip!' Sakura's inner self spoke.

The man in question was sleeping so peacefully that she was sorry to wake him. "Excuse me..." She repeated, this time in a more direct voice, touching his arm out of pure instinct to pull him more firmly out of his dreamland. "You're cold! Are you okay?"

'I touched his skin just for a second and… He feels so cold!' The man was cold as ice to the touch, and it had always been Sakura's nature to worry about others. Perhaps it was this trait that pushed her towards her goal of one day becoming a doctor.

The man's eyes were still closed, and the fact that his chest wasn't rising or falling at all made Sakura decide that the man was probably breathing very weakly, maybe not at all. Sakura leaned down slightly towards the man, trying to feel for a pulse on his neck with two fingers. "He has no pulse!" She exclaimed with a look of horror in her eyes as she looked at the man again.

"Eh? He… He's not breathing! He's dead?!"

"Oh, no! I have to call an ambulance!" Sakura ran to her suitcase and quickly fished out her cell phone, which she had safely secured between her socks. Several thoughts ran through her head.

'Is my first day here really starting with a dead body? Could today have been any worse?'

Dialing emergency services on her cell phone, Sakura ran back to the man whose limp body was lying on the sofa. "Hold on! Even if you can't hear me, help will be here soon!" She knelt down on the floor next to the sofa and wondered what to do now.

'Shouldn't I give him first aid before the ambulance arrives? Isn't it too late?'

Despite all her fears and the adrenaline in her blood, Sakura didn't even notice that the seemingly dead man had snatched her cell phone out of her hand and hung up just as the nice operator answered with the words "Please, how can I help you?".

"Damn, you're annoying..." The man slowly but surely sat down on the couch in front of her and stared at Sakura's emerald eyes with an unpleasant glare of his black eyes.

"This isn't your house, so be quiet." He said with annoyance, clearly annoyed by the fact that Sakura had just woken him up. But was it her fault? She was trying to save his life, jerk!

"You... You're alive!" Relief fell from her as she saw that the man was perfectly fine. His previous rudeness momentarily forgotten.

"Why wouldn't I be alive? What's up with you? Going around making a fuss in someone else's home…" He asked in a monotone as he tiredly ran a hand through his hair.

"But your heart wasn't beating." Sakura was sure of it. She hadn't read that many borrowed books from the library about medicine just to look at the pictures. She was sure his heart hadn't been beating just a moment ago. How is this possible…?

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a tone that demanded a truthful answer.

"Until just now... You were..." Sakura still couldn't believe that this guy was perfectly fine.

"I was doing what? Is there something wrong with me having a nap in my own house?" His eyes were magnetic to Sakura. Now that he's awake, she can see that he has beautiful deep onyx eyes. His expression may be frightening, but his eyes... Sakura is definitely not afraid of them.

"A nap?! But I'm certain your..." Sakura paused and didn't finish her planned sentence. This guy is obviously alive, so her theory is currently disproved. Even if it's simply not possible...

The realization that she was kneeling on the ground made her get to her feet, but she didn't quite manage it. The man grabbed her wrist with his empty hand and skillfully threw her to the other side of the sofa. 'What…?! I was pushed down?!'

"What are you doing?!" Sakura was lying on her back, looking confusedly into his black eyes that were examining her in a strange way. If this man wasn't a human but an animal, she would have said he was looking at her like she was his dinner.

"You already know the answer to that." He said with a smirk on his face that Sakura definitely didn't like. "You're the one who brought this upon yourself, aren't you?"

"I'm kind of hungry..." He leaned down and whispered to her, his voice still husky.

"L-Let me go! What are you doing all of a sudden?!" She shouted with rage in her eyes at this creep. Sakura has always had a feisty temper.

"You're the one who suddenly walked into someone else's house, right?" He said bluntly, tightening his grip on her wrist.

"That's...right. But I..." He was kind of right, but it's not her fault that they didn't know she was coming.

"Shut up." He said firmly, ending their previous conversation with just two words.

Sakura turned her gaze from the man sideways to the staircase. From his words, Sakura could tell that the longer she was in this man's presence, the less safe she felt. 'Isn't there anyone here who can help me? Of course there isn't. It's just the two of us!'

"'Leave me alone! Let me go!" She tried with all her strength to press her hand on the man's chest to push him off of her. Unfortunately, the man put his full weight on top of her, holding her wrists firmly underneath him now. She couldn't twitch, kick, move her arms, or even scream because it would have been pointless if it's just the two of them in the house.

Sakura felt the man move closer to her neck. She didn't know what he was going to do and that scared her the most. A kiss, a slap, a choke, or a hickey on the neck would be expected in such a situation. What wasn't expected, however, was the fact that the man carefully bent down to her neck, slowly taking in the scent of her long pink hair that was now strewn everywhere.

And it didn't stop there. Sakura felt that his tongue was now in play as well, but in no romantic way. He seemed to be tasting her. "Don't touch me!"

'Is he really testing how my skin tastes now? Am I some kind of appetizer?'

"You pervert... Stop!" Sakura closed her eyes, hoping to wake up quickly from this horrible nightmare. 'This person is nuts! Suddenly doing such a thing…'

"Sasuke, what's all the commotion?" A man's voice suddenly echoed from the direction of the staircase.

"Neji." The black-haired man said with a deep sigh. He lifted himself off of Sakura to get a better look at the newcomer.

"This is the entrance hall. This is meant to be used as a place to greet our guests. Take your activities to your private room." Said the man with long dark brown hair and strange white eyes as he approached the two.

"Well, that was dull." Replied the man, who was holding Sakura in his grip. Without giving her a single glance, he let go of her wrist and backs off.

'This is my chance to run!'

"Please, help me!" Sakura didn't hesitate for a moment and ran towards the man the creep called Neji.

"Excuse me? And you are?" He replied without any sign of concern or interest.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. My father said I should live here from today onwards…" Sakura blurted out quickly at the other man. Still nervous about what was going on. At least this man's arrival saved her. Who knows from what, honestly...

"I heard nothing of the sort. Sasuke, explain this to me."

This man with long hair seemed very firm and stern. Not only by the neat suit he was wearing, but also by the tone in his voice.

"Huh? How should I know?" The black-haired man replied, a little offended. Sasuke, actually… as Neji called him. It was obvious he didn't know about Sakura's arrival either.

"You never said anything about that." Sasuke added with a look at the girl who was much more confused than both men combined.

"That's because you attacked me out of nowhere!" She retorted, voice raised and fists clenched along her body, at the man whose behavior she still couldn't explain.

"Hn..." Sasuke replied, his gaze then focused on the view out the window.

"That is strange. I wasn't informed of this." Neji propped his chin up, wondering who the girl standing to his left really was.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Sakura asked the white-eyed man, expecting some answers.

"We shouldn't talk here. Come this way." Neji said and walked away towards the staircase. 'Thank God. This person seems like he'd be willing to listen to me, unlike that Sasuke person… '

"See to her luggage." He added with a glance towards the wall where an older man stood in the shadows. Apparently Neji's personal servant. How long had the man been standing there? Had they come together?

'This probably wouldn't be the weirdest thing in this house.'

-XXX-

End of Chapter 2