"Wait! You're actually staying at his house? At Sasuke's house? Sasuke, as in, Sasuke Uchiha? That Sasuke?!"
"Yes, Ino. It's not like we know a ton of Sasuke's…" Sakura commented rather distractedly as she reached into her bag for a tube of chapstick. Only it seemed it was buried at the very bottom. Or maybe stuck between the pages of a textbook. She gave up for a moment, opting to sit on one of the many benches around the campus quad.
Her Chem exam ended about fifteen minutes ago. After getting over the initial shock of finally being finished, she just wandered around, grabbed herself some lunch since it was early afternoon by now, and called Ino.
"Sakura…Sa-Ku-RA. You're being waaay too lax about this! It's SASUKE." And she had no choice but to believe Ino was giving him way more emphasis that it deserved. She honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal. In fact, she didn't even want to stay as his house to begin with. However…well…she is and there's not much she can do about it at the moment.
"Maybe. I don't know Pig, it just sort of happened. He was there and offered and wouldn't take no for an answer—."
"Typical Uchiha behavior. Pfft."
"To make matters worse, his brother left me a note this morning saying how we'll talk tonight, and I would honestly rather take that chem exam again than do that."
"His brother?! Itachi? Itachi Uchiha!?"
"Ino, please stop that. It…Ino? What the—dead again…dammit! I need a new phone…" If memory served correct, her phone died again yesterday as well. Could there be a problem with the battery? Great, just add that to the list of things she needs to take care of along with finding a new place to live. The added stress is marvelous.
With no further classes for the rest of the day, Sakura decided to trek on back to her current abode. She chuckled to herself. Now she couldn't even call Sasuke if she wanted to. Oh well, taking the bus will be just fine. Luckily there's a stop fairly close to the Uchiha household. Shouldn't be too long of a walk to get there. In the meantime, she'll wait for the next one to arrive while skimming through the next chapter of chemistry.
"You've gotta be some kind of masochist, Sakura." Called a voice right as she turned a page. Judging by the lazy drawl, she guessed who it was being even peering up from her text.
"What makes you say that, Shikamaru?" Said genius plopped down beside her only to lean forward on his elbows and gaze at her from the corner of his eye with a smirk on his lips. A lazy one, go figure.
"That chemistry exam isn't even cold yet and you're already reading the next chapter. What the heck?" He gave her book a quick flick which prompted a pout from the pinkette who soon moved out of his reach, triggered a short chuckle.
"I just like to be prepared! What's so wrong with that?" He merely shrugged before leaning back with his arms raised up high, stretching out those arms only to bring them back down and fold them behind his head.
"Nothing, I guess. Just seems like you over prepare sometimes."
"Hah. School is about the only thing that kind of statement applies to…" If only she'd over prepared when it came to her living situation. As it stood, her old flat was cheaper enough to not care. Besides, it's not like she spent a ton of time there. Why spend a ton of time thinking about how crappy it actually was?
"So, you're really staying with them? What Naruto and Sasuke?"
"For now, yeah. My lease was almost up at that other place anyway. I guess it's fine. Say, do you know of any cheap apartments around here?" Maybe he'd know a thing or two about a thing or two. Going off his expression alone, she ventured to guess he either didn't of wouldn't have a suitable place in mind for her.
"No idea. You're not going to consider staying with them? At least until winter break?" It seemed like a viable solution to him. While he can't imagine the blond and Uchiha's are the best roommates, it's better than most situations.
"God, no. It would be too weird. Just…in general. Besides, four guys and one girl in a house together sounds like the title of a bad porno." He couldn't help that laugh he blurted out uncharacteristically just then. She had a good point.
"You're something else. Well, good luck. With finding a place and getting out of there once you do." He made a motion to stand when Sakura's voice stopped him, confusion laden in her tone.
"Wait, why would I need luck leaving? I'm sure they'd be happy to see me go." His brow creased. He couldn't believe she didn't know. Then again, she said so herself. Academics is about the only thing she overprepares for.
"You mean you really don't know—?"
"Ah, here comes my bus. Tell me later! Bye!" Sure, enough the big green Konoha U mode of transportation rolled up to the curb and Sakura boarded as soon as the doors parted. She bid Shikarmaru farewell with a wave once she found a seat. He could only return the gesture with a hopeless look for the girl on his face.
"They're not gonna let you go so easily."
At times, when unfortunate events take place, Sakura often wonders what in the hell kind of shitty person she must've been in a previous life? Is her luck really so terrible that she can't even catch a break for 24 hours? The apartment thing was bad enough, unexpected, and just completely life altering in the most basic way. Because she needed a place to live!
"Why…why is this happening to me?" She groaned while repeatedly hitting her head against the very much locked door of the house. The very same house whose patrons were nowhere to be found and with her cell phone dead there was absolutely no means of contacting any of them. She had no idea when any of them would be home.
Pit. Pit. Pat. Pit.
AND IT'S STARTING TO RAIN.
"Fuck. My. Life." Sakura let her messenger bag fall the ground as she stood beneath the small space of the awning over the porch. It wasn't much but at least it would keep the upper part of her body from getting drenched.
'Think, Sakura! I could just go back to campus. But the next bus won't be around for another 30 minutes. And there's even less cover at that stop. I'll be soaked by the time it arrives. Then I'll catch a cold. Or worse! I could just wait for someone to get here…or I could try sneaking in through a window…'
It was stupid. She knew it was stupid. Someone could catch her, call the cops, SHE'D BE BREAKING INTO THE HOUSE OF A FAMILY OF COPS.
Maybe jail won't be so ba—.
"Nonsense! They all know me! It'll be fine!" Is what she tried to tell herself. Which was true. Sasuke's family did all vaguely seem to at least know of her. Sasuke's family being his immediate household plus Shisui. Everyone else? Not so much.
As Sakura scoured the side of the house for a window, she went over the pros and cons of this particular act before stumbling upon one on the lower level that seemed to be the best option. It was sort of high off the ground and kind of tiny. She suddenly began to regret all those bagels she'd been eating over the past few weeks.
No matter! All she needs is something to give her a boost. A quick scan of her surroundings and she caught sight of what was very obviously a never been used before bird bath. Never been used in the sense that it was tucked behind some bushes and currently resting on its side. Perfect!
Sakura sat the bird bath upward on the most level spot she could find, took a deep breath, then hoisted herself up toward the window. At just the right height to push the window up and open, a few grunts escaped her as she got her hands in the right position and gave it a good shove. From there, she gripped the sill and slid in just fine until her hips got caught. There may have been some wiggling involved.
Okay…a lot of wiggling.
"Oh god…I-I'm stuck…fuck—." Amidst her struggle, she noticed something that was VERY alarming. The room itself was oddly warm…the kind of warmth one would feel after a shower…a shower that was still running…
She was in the bathroom.
A quick glance to the shower and she breathed a much-needed sigh of relief. No one was in there, thank god. But why was the shower still running? Honestly, there was no time to think about that because she was still stuck, and her butt was the one getting the shower at this point. Several grunts later, she managed to push herself forward just to land unceremoniously on the floor right as that bathroom door opened and in walked in a robe clad man with a wild mane of inky black hair and eyes that could pierce the soul.
She was in the bathroom. With Sasuke's uncle, Uchiha Madara.
"H'oh…?"
Jail sounds fine but dying sounds sooo much better…
Sakura can't be sure what sort of message Madara relayed to the other patrons of the house but they filed in within the hour, one right after the other. They all sat around the den area, each wearing various layers of apprehension and fear on their faces, save for Itachi who looked the same as always.
Though even she could tell he was tense.
Then Madara entered the room and Naruto stiffened out of the corner of her eye. She supposed aside from herself, he had the most to lose in the situation given that he wasn't an Uchiha. It made sense for him to be especially nervous. Sasuke didn't given any sort of bodily gesture that gave away is apparent mood. He just looked angry. And Shisui tried to play cool like he wasn't nervous but that minute the older man strolled passed him to sit in one of the armchairs, it looked like a shiver shot up his spine.
"Glad you all could make it. It has come to my attention that we have a new houseguest in the form of Haruno Sakura." He started and Sakura couldn't help but speak up for herself already. It felt like she was on trial.
"If I could just—." But he cut her a glance and she sank bank into the cushion of the couch, fingers tapping on her knees.
"Would anyone care to explain why I caught her climbing in through my bathroom window this afternoon?"
It sounded bad but somehow when he said it, it was 1000x worse. Like he had declared war on the entire world. Or just her. He'd declared war on her.
"Uncle," Sasuke was the first to speak up. Madara gave him a silence glance with a hand that gestured for him to continue. "I was the one that let Sakura stay here. She probably thought no one was home and assumed she was locked out. All of her things are here. That's why she slipped in through the window."
Sasuke coming through with his deductive reasoning skills is probably the best thing he's ever done for her and she won't soon forget it!
"Oh? Well Sakura, is that correct?" Finally, he's letting her talk.
"Yeah, I knocked on the door, but I guess it wasn't loud en—."
"You didn't think to call anyone?" Alright. That's the second time he's interrupted her. This isn't going to end well if he keeps that up. She hates being interrupted.
"My phone died, and my charger was—."
"Ah, I see. Still, breaking and entering is inexcusable. I'm sure you understand that." She could feel Naruto twitching beside mostly like due to how she was inwardly seething over the way this man was speaking to her. She cracked a fake smile as if to display that yes, she understood.
"Yes, I do. However, it wasn't my intent—."
"Whatever your intentions were, you still broke the—."
"Would you let me finish at least one sentence!? For Kami's sake! I mean, I get you like hearing the sound of you own voice but just one sentence!" The room grew deathly quiet and no one moved as all eyes were on the pink haired woman who'd just yelled at Uchiha Madara for doing what an Uchiha does best.
"Huh. So, this one's got some fire."
"…what?"
A/N: The fifth housemate is as Kimiss guessed, Madara! Stay tuned for the next chapter as Sakura's life with these five lovely gentlemen continues to develop.
Thank you for all the support! Remember to follow me on tumblr for updates! See you next week!