Chapter 2 – two in an apartment.

The next day Sakura woke up oddly early, feeling oddly tired. The clock on her nightstand showed 6:37, but she remained in her bed for another half of hour or so, re-memorizing the day before as if it was a fading dream.

Sakura reached her apartment relatively late, as it was dark when she finally managed to park her car in a secure place. However, when she turned to check on her slave she only saw his sleeping figure. Shaking and yelling in his ear done nothing, he was out cold, so the only way to move him out of her car was taking him out of there herself. she thanked the gods so many times there was no one to see her, so she finished her task quickly, dragging on the ground the man, and pushing him in the elevator then up on the third floor where her apartment was located. Once she unlocked the door, Sakura literately threw his body in the hallway and left him there, on the floor before changing in her pjs and falling asleep.

Now that she thought of it, she acted quite…well, she didn't knew if there was a word to describe how she acted, but she was sure it wasn't quite right what she just did. First of all, she dragged her slave out of her car and into her house. She dragged him. And left him on the 'welcome' carpet asleep. And then she went to sleep herself. As she rolled on her stomach, she remembered what the man from the warehouse said, about him being violent and unpredictable. For a moment the imagine of the same boney hand which went though the bars yesterday chocking her while she was asleep made the young woman shudder and grab the sheets tighter. Her green eyes involuntary checked the door to see if it was opened. She even stared over the bed, on the floor to see if there was a sleeping slave down there.

But no. She was alone. And apparently, she was still alive.

Still, to think of it, she wasn't exactly alone anymore. Since last night she started to share her own personal space with a slave. Even though slaves weren't considered persons, it still felt strange. It felt as if her privacy risked to be violated at any moment.

As Sakura continued to think of that matter, she realized that she actually slept a deep a dreamless sleep while in the hallway was another human being. The woman's throat suddenly dried when she realized that she wouldn't actually sleep like that ever again. Last night she was too tired to acknowledge her current situation, but now, as she laid there on the bed, crawled and gripping the sheets as if her life depended on it, it all sank down to her.

Probably that was the second thing which motivated her rise from her bed. The first thing was the need to shower.

Sakura stepped out of her room and for the first time in her life checked both ends of the hallway, as if wanting to make sure the coast was clear. Quickly, she entered the bathroom and locked the door twice behind her. The shower was warm, not hot, and refreshing, but it still hadn't managed to wash away her doubt and slight anxiety. Also, she finished it quickly and, following the same routine of checking both ends of the hallway, she went in her room, her body covered only by a towel.

To think of all those old horror movies where the murderer strikes when a young girl is showering and how everyone says they are fake and unrealistic. Well, for some reason Sakura couldn't banish the image of a knife's shadow on her shower curtain.

She also changed at an accelerated rate, in a simple pair of shorts and a tank top before creeping slowly out of her room yet again. Even if she didn't like the idea, it was time to check on the slave.

The hallway of her apartment had the form of an "L" and last night Hanseki was dropped around the corner, in front of the entrance on the 'welcome' carpet. Half of Sakura was expecting to find the slave in the same position she left him, but the other half of her couldn't help but make her whole body tremble lightly at the thought that he might not be there. The young woman walked slowly, feeling with each step the coldness of the floor under her bare feet. Again, she was extra cautious analyzing each sound she heard and calculating her steps and breaths like never before. Underneath her clothes, her skin was burning hot, making even her still wet hair feel much colder then it actually was.

Sakura took one last deep breath before slowly reaching a hand and grabbing the corner of the hallway, before slowly peaking her head around it.

Hanseki was still there. And he was awake.

The warm light of the spring sun cascaded all the way from the kitchen window on the floor of the hallway and into the features of the black haired slave.

He sat motionlessly with his back against the wall opposite to the kitchen with his head thrown back and his body relaxed. Or maybe numb, Sakura couldn't tell for sure. The image might have looked quite peaceful at first, but then she took in the details. The way his still shackled wrists laid on his lap, the abnormal angle his head and neck had as they were tilted too far on his right..it were those details which made her mouth dry and she found herself gulping only air anxiously. Upon further observation, Sakura's green eyes noticed how Hanseki's long and pale fingers touched each other, making the chain which held his hands together rattle lightly.

But what truly disrupted the young woman was the man's expression. Black eyes were half closed, staring into the blinding light without showing any signs that it might hurt them. Thin, dry lips were parted in exhaustion. Slow, rare breaths were inhaled unevenly. Old cuts, scars and bruises painted his cheeks, now fully exposed to her green eyes. Messy, untamed black hair which crowned his face and completed his degrading portrait. The man was a disaster.

Slaves were the kind of objects normal people would make use of. Without masters, there would be no reason for such people, and their fate would only mean pain, neglect and even death. So, most 'normal people' thought they were doing a favor to slaves by actually putting them to work, whether it was the house chores, taking care of children or elder people, sexual services, hard labor and so on. It only meant those objects became useful. Once the object couldn't be used anymore, the master had the right to replace it with another one. Still, inside Sakura's mind, everything sounded terribly wrong in those very moments. Catching a breath, the young woman threw her back around the corner and ran a hand through her pink, soaked hair.

The man she just saw simply looked exhausted, consumed and neglected. Was it wrong to think of him as a man or as a person? He had two arms, two legs, two eyes and a still beating heart, even if his skin was scarred and his clothes were shredded. Between the two of them there was no difference, expect the look in their eyes. Sakura's green orbs always shone with life and desire to taste every single day to its fullest. Hanseki's dull, black ones were empty. Empty of life, of hope, of emotion. He simply sat there with his eyes in the sun, probably not knowing it was the sun which shone over him, only making his existence known by the absent moves his fingers done when they touched. She almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

Sakura closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled before walking around the corner confident and stared at her new slave with a somehow neutral figure, as she tried to hide her thoughts from him. Hanseki hadn't noticed her.

"Ahem." Sakura cleared her throat. Still nothing. She did it again, but he was still absent.

"You." She called out loud, sounding slightly rougher than intended.

Hanseki turned his head around in a quick move.

And then she saw it.

The anger. And the hate.

Sakura was wrong; the man wasn't as dull as she first believed him to be.

In that very moment, the pink haired woman found herself sitting on her knees, hunched over and pointing a faint light in the face of Hanseki back at the warehouse, moments before his fingers finally managed to touch her throat.

It lasted for only a few seconds before Sakura was back in the hallway of her apartment staring down at her slave. The slave who was staring back with the same look in his eyes.

The anger and the hate.

It amazed her; it truly did. Seeing the man down there, so exposed and so vulnerable, yet with enough power of will to stare like that at her; as if she was his slave and he was about to order her around. Sakura couldn't hold her body from shivering several times; it frightened her a little bit, so be stared at like that. She felt as every single bit of pity she had felt for him just moments ago vanished only to be replaced by anxiety. Hanseki had the darkest eyes she had ever seen. So dark and deep and full of emotion; if she was ever to tell anyone what she thought about his eyes, they would call her crazy. "Slaves can't stare like that! They don't have emotions!" they would say. But Sakura knew it would be wrong, because this slave, this man who was literately down at her feet was indeed transmitting something to her. He despised her, she could feel it. Just like a spider crawling on her skin. Or maybe a snake. Yes, a snake…

Hanseki, the slave with venomous eyes.

Sakura felt a drop of water running down her face. Her wet hair.

"It's morning. Aren't you doing to make some breakfast?" she said while trying to sound authorial and in control of the situation.

Hanseki did nothing; only drop his lids a little bit more over his eyes. But he kept staring. Sakura rose an eyebrow.

"Get up and make me something to eat." She finally said before turning on her heels and returning to her room. Or so it appeared to, because the woman actually waited around the corner far away from hanseki's eyes and listened closely as the man rose with a slight grunt and carried himself towards the kitchen. Once she heard the plates hitting one another she left.

Wow. She had just gave her slave an order. And apparently he had taken it.

The woman closed the door to her room and found herself inhaling deeply . Apparently she had neglected the need of oxygen while in the hallway, so she wasn't denying the air which entered her lungs breath after breath. In her mind Sakura had just done something worth an award. After all she felt strong and in control over the situation. She felt just like a master. Because she had ordered something to a slave and he did as she told him to. The woman had to admit, it wasn't the most noble feeling in the world, but it surely was something.

Suddenly, Sakura felt more confident in her position and in what her life from that point on was going to be like. Hanseki was going to do whatever he would be told, no matter how many defying stares he would give her. After all, he was wearing the collar around his throat and the remote was in her hand. Somehow it also seemed that the following nights will not be as stressful as she originally thought, and probably she wouldn't need to look at both ends of the hallway or lock the bathroom door twice. Many of her friends owned slaves and she never heard any of them complaining about similar matters. Maybe all the stress was only inside her mind.

Maybe Hanseki wasn't truly string like that at her. Maybe he was only string. And she misjudged it for hate.

But even if he hated her, what was he going to do?

Amazing how only one given order managed to change her entire mood. Sakura quickly changed her clothes again, and dried her hair all while humming a random tune slowly. When she exited her room without checking the hallway, she made herself way straight to the kitchen. And what she was somehow unexpected.

For a slave who had barely come out a warehouse, Hanseki done a great job in frying a couple of eggs and serving them nicely besides a few slices of ham and cheese. He even filled up a glass of milk for her, since she had forgot to buy some juice yesterday. Sakura's green eyes quickly scanned even the sink only to find out that he had also done the dishes.

As for Hanseki, he was simply leaning against the wall opposite to the kitchen table, his hands crossed over his stomach, as he watched her figure closely. He was still glaring holes into her, but she did notice that it wasn't as intense as earlier. Or maybe she had just got used to it? Well, it didn't matter, without saying a single word the woman sat herself at her table and started to eat. Her left hand reached for the remote, which was also placed within her reach, and turned on the tv, allowing some random news report to fill the kitchen with some noise.

From the first bite, she tried to find something to muster Hanseki over, but she couldn't find anything. The food wasn't extraordinary, it was only fried eggs with cheese and ham, but it was flawless. Not even a single eggshell crunched between her teeth. Not even a single variation of thickness in the way the cheese was sliced. Not even a little bit of fat on the ham. So, she took bite after bite, enjoying her food and occasionally rising her eyes towards the tv, completely oblivious to her slave's presence.

That until she inwardly crossed stared with him again. In the exact moment when he was biting his lower lip, his eyes glued to the piece of ham in her fork. The piece which was rising slowly to her lips. For a moment she stopped and Hanseki turned his eyes away. But that alone was enough to make the pleasure she was eating her breakfast with vanish just like that. Still, Sakura took that bite and another couple or so, before she allowed her fork to fall on the plate soundly.

"I'm done. You can finish this up and then clean this place." She said while rising from her spot and exiting the kitchen. She didn't dare to share another stare with the slave, but inside her she felt as a little bit of the authority she felt earlier faded away only to be replaced with the pity she felt earlier.

Sakura left about an egg, two slices of cheese and four slices of ham untouched on the plate. As well as half of the glass of milk to go with the rest.

The slave, the man was starving and she was eating so hungrily in front of him. As Sakura sat down on the couch of her living room she couldn't help but feel a funny feeling in her gut, and it wasn't because of the food. The food was just fine; it was the guilt which made her feel horrible. In all her authority rush, she almost forgot that this was a man and he also needed food in order to survive.

So, secretly, Sakura turned on her tv but left it on mute, listening to how the fork she ate with before hit the surface of the plate several more times before the sound of rushing water replaced it. Several minutes later Hanseki followed his master in the living room and seated himself in a corner. Soon enough the sound of the rattling chain which held his wrists together made the woman turn the tv's volume up a little more.

All this time Sakura pretended to be completely oblivious to the man's conditions, but secretly she was listening to every single sound he did. She even stole a glance or two when his eyes were lowered in his lap. After a while Sakura couldn't focus anymore on the tv, so felt it on a random channel while she found herself deep in thought.

This was too much for only one day. Guilt, anxiety, authority, guilt again and now…what the heck was she feeling? Well, whatever it was, it was too much for her. She wasn't used with such a rollercoaster of emotions in only a few hours. Yet again, she found herself wondering what would her life be life from that moment on. Hanseki wasn't the kind of person to stand out and demand attention as she almost forgot about him a few times. But yet again, the thought that she was sharing her space with him, even if he was only a slave made Sakura slightly nervous.

About an hour of blankly watching a boring documentary on tv the woman's salvation finally came. A text message on her cell phone.

To: Sakura

From: Ino

Hey there sweetie! Wanna hang out for a while before the courses start? I could sooo use a café latte! Oh, met cute guy! Call me for details! Hinata's coming too!

Sakura rose an eyebrow; honestly, Ino was among the last people she actually wanted to talk to in those very moments, but for some reason she called the blond back, fixed the time and place, got dressed and left her apartment, leaving Hanseki all alone at home. Maybe because she wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone she actually went out for a little while. Or probably because Hanseki's unnoticeable presence was suffocating her. Either way, the young woman felt uncomfortable comfortable after she locked her apartment and walked off. Probably because she took the remote control with her. Probably because she had hidden all sharp objects and the electroshock gun as well. Or probably because she had simply left her slave to hand out with her girlfriends.

So they would meet, gossip, relax and then attend some courses before going back home and crossing eyes with her slave yet again. But for now Sakura preferred only to think of how nice this little hangout would be, considering how stressed she was about her slave. Probably she would ask for some advice, probably Ino and Hinata will only laugh at her problems and say she only overreacts, hell knew what was going to happen.

Sakura was sure of only one thing. Her life was never going to be the same. What she had just experienced that morning was only the beginning.

A/N: another chapter. Still an intro, but from the next chappie some action will take place.

Hanseki = result of rebellion

and Hanseki is actually sasuke :P

Please review. It really motivates me to write more :D