CHAPTER 7

Next day, 8 a.m, Japan, Tokyo, Sasuke`s villa

After the previous` day events Sakura couldn't find her sleep at all, so she took her time to install her tracking devices into Sasuke`s home. She put microphones and mini cameras in key points: his room (no, she wasn't that much of a pervert to peep on the privacy of his room…ok maybe she was, but that was not the point, his safety was more important than moral values, she decided), his office, on the entrance door, in the garden and on the main hall. She discovered that her boss` villa was really big on the outside, but it was not full of rooms and halls on the inside. In fact, it was quite roomy.

The villa had only one main hall, with two big stairs that were connected in the middle, like a giant dragon, creating an interesting effect, 4 additional rooms, a main bathroom and only two floors. He wasn't that much of a cliché bachelor that was living alone, but had a mansion of 20 rooms. The man was practical indeed.

The house was unique and beautiful in terms of architecture (it had the shape of a hawk's wing) and it was spacious all right. It was like an opera hall. Maybe Sasuke was claustrophobic or something, he really preferred spacious rooms and opened spaces (half of the villa was separated from the yard by only a giant glass window and the pool was half on the inside and a wing on the outside).

Then, after she installed the equipment and made sure it worked (the action itself took Sakura 2 hours) she prepared her own devices and weapons. Sakura wasn't one to take many devices with her, that was too risky for her cover, but she liked to wear the basics, like earrings with microphones included, her retractable Bo Staff that was her weapon of choice and could be hid into her shoes, some poisoned needles and mini track devices that could be glued to almost every surface. Shino was a genius and created all the devices, along with his office partners. He was one of the best.

She had only encountered a little problem that was racking her brain, but she hoped it was not much of a big deal and could be solved with a little effort. It was the devices from Sasuke`s private office room. For some reasons Sakura couldn't explain, no track device, microphone or camera seemed to work inside. Every single signal was blocked by a powerful electromagnetic field.

She had measured the electromagnetic fields inside with an EMF meter and the level was off the charts there. She was curios and took the device and measured the rest of the house, even the surrounding area of the house, up to the main fence and the electromagnetic field was on the charts there, so she concluded that the abnormal electromagnetic field surrounding his office was not a DC current, that occurs naturally in the Earth's geomagnetic field, but it was probably generated by AC currents, meaning those emitted from man-made sources and she was certain it was not generated by air conditioning, cordless phone, power lines and electronic appliances. It was way too stronger and not to mention, too unhealthy for someone to stay so much time in such an environment. Then why was Sasuke….she had to call Shino and ask him.

She took her time to properly arrange everything and that took her almost half of the night. But it somehow distracted her mind from another unpleasant events and gave her time to reflect more about what was about to come. After she was ready with everything she took a really long bath in the main bathroom's high tech Jacuzzi (she had only a shower in her room, water saving be damned), using Sasuke`s spa products (if he wasn't a notorious player, Sakura would have thought he was gay) without really caring (she was having her revenge on him, ha!). Well it could have been a really good idea to take her towels as well, but no, her brain decided to take an unexpected holiday.

And so she was crossing her boss` home, wet, dressed in his navy blue expensive towels (Sakura was slightly dizzy because they smelled just like him and that was…bad for her mental health, but she took her time to smell them like the idiot she was) and again she wasn't bothered by it.

Sasuke was not home, he was probably challenging the world Guinness record for the highest number of orgasms given to a woman in one night, so Sakura was taking her time in parading naked in his home. She felt tempted to take the towels off and take a dip in the inviting pool but she was too tired to wash her hair again.

It was 4 o'clock in the morning when Sakura decided it was time to give her exhausted body its proper rest, shoved two sleeping Ativan pills down her throat (Orochimaru and his warnings about Difficulty keeping balance or Dizziness and other horror side effects be damned) and literary threw herself on the bed, on her tummy with her head sank on the fluffy pillows….her iPod on repeat and still naked with only Sasuke`s towel around her torso. She threw the one from her wet hair…somewhere (she really couldn't remember exactly where…maybe Orochimaru was right about the pills` side effects).

Sakura managed to get some sleep, dreaming about stupid things without any relevant connection between them: the ocean, a parrot and the pink ice cream car. She didn't know the sleeping pills worked as drugs as well.

This until the stupid mobile phone alarm decided to be a bitch and wake her up.

RIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG….BANG!

A clumsy thrown punch was trying to target the annoying ringing device. No avail. Sakura was not even aware that since yesterday morning, she wasn't in her bad, in Italy, but she was now in Japan, in a bad she wasn't hers. And she wasn't accustomed with her surroundings, and that resulted in a punch thrown not in what she believed was her mushroomed shaped alarm clock, but a very hard night stands her sleepy mind didn't register.

"HOLLY MACARONI FUCKING SHI…huh?! Where the hell am I? Have I been kidnapped or something? I am going to punch the bastards right on their…oh"

Sakura realized two things while being in a zombie like state, after she was brutally pulled out from her dear sleep, by her traitor of a cell phone: one, she was not in her house and two, she was dressed in a wet towel that smelled like a man. OMFG! She promptly jumped off the bad, landing directly on her butt.

"AWWWWWW that hurt!"

She watched around in horror. She couldn't have slept with a man and not remember anything, that was impossible, she was not Karin for Heaven`s sake. But then again, maybe it was a hot dude she hooked up with at some club and she was too drunk and…no, that was impossible, she was never that drunk to not remember something like that. Then what in the world…aha. She was starting to gain her senses back. She was in a man's house all right and she was tainting his towels as well. But it was not any man; it was her bastard player of a boss's home.

"Gosh what an awful day…I feel like I was hit by a high speed plane in the air, while being hit in the head by a kangaroo at the same time…my head hurts as well…and I need food…"

Sakura now had quite a clear vision of the day before yesterday's events. She couldn't believe she even survived the horror. Meeting her new boss, being accepted as a maid by him after an inquisitional test, meeting Akatsuki then seeing her boss in a hotel room with a stranger. Gosh that sucked major balls.

Now you know how you have a really bad day with stressful things happening, and if there is a sad event as well, first you feel like you want to die and sink in misery…or alcohol, but then the next day, you reflect on things, and the depressed state of mind has passed and in the final you just feel bored and angry? This is exactly how Sakura felt in that particular moment.

She realized she was either suffering from an extreme case of emo-ism or she was bipolar. How could she have been so down just because she met some stupid people that insulted her or she found out how much of a manwhore Sasuke really was? No, she wasn't giving a damn anymore about that. She had a good sleep, she wasn't one to sleep much anyways and now the only thing she needed was some food in her stomach and her daily Tiramisu.

She opened her room's door and proceeded to the kitchen to hunt down food. In her rush, she put the ugly looking glasses (she has slept on them after all) and her bad hair, that was not dried properly, was sticking in all directions, like some broken compass, successfully making her look like some drunk beggar. Perfect. She hasn't even realized she forgot to dress up as well. Maybe it was because of the hunger.

She went down the stairs (her room was upstairs) and was about to go into the kitchen. She bought some whole-grain toast, eggs, musli, vegetables, white grapefruit and oranges and Prague ham. And a large piece of Tiramisu, all bought with her money (she thrown the money Sasuke has given her somewhere in a dresser on her room, she didn't bother with that too much). God was she salivating already.

But as she was crossing the dining room and attempted to walk into the kitchen she saw something that caught her attention. Oh Lord. There, on the big grey Le Colbert Christopher Guy sofa was her boss. And he was dead to the world. He was on his back, his right hand under his head, the other one on her chest, his legs crossed (he was Dracula, Sakura knew it, the Vampire Prince was just too tired to go upstairs and sleep in his coffin).

And even asleep as he was, this bastard of a boss managed to attract Sakura to him like a magnet. She went straight to him and stopped right next to him, arms crossed, eyes intently studying the specimen in front of her. Oh how much Sakura wanted to give him a good morning round kick in his sleeping figure. Or take a bucket of hot water and throw it at him. God, Sakura felt an immense wave of hate rushing through her body. She was sure she was projecting it on the outside as well. She even thought she saw the walls started to melt like lava. She really wanted to beat him to a pulp, pull his eyes out, cut his body in half, then shove a poisoned senbon in his jugular and put an end to his miserable career of a total womanizer. And then hang him with his now lacking tie.

But as she was having these maleficent thoughts, she also felt the urge to touch him. She dropped on her knees, being at the same level with his sleeping face to take a closer look. And she couldn't help but watch in wonder just how handsome he really was. He looked dead tired, he had bags under his eyes, his mouth was slightly agape, his clothes were a mess, his dark hair spread all over the little throw pillow and he smelled strongly like whiskey and something else Sakura couldn't tell what it was, but it was quite clear he had a lot. Even in these circumstances, he still managed to look amazing.

Sakura couldn't help herself getting closer to him, his intoxicating scent clouding her mind. His natural unique scent, combined with the strong drinks and his expensive cologne, was a killer for any woman, it was utterly impossible to resist the combination. And the barely there woman perfume and the red lipstick marks on his neck was a proof of this fact. Of course, after all he spent the entire night with that woman or maybe with many others if he went outside to drink this much (she was almost certain they didn't drink in the hotel room).

As gently as she could (she couldn't have him waking up ), she got a hold of a longer lock from his bangs and curled it on her finger. God, it was softer than she had imagined it, like it was made from the finest silk and it was luscious as well, it felt amazing on her delicate hand.

And as much as her inner self, the one that absolutely loathed this man, was banging her head with a hammer, Sakura lost the fight to get a hold of herself and stop doing such dramatic things. She touched some more locks of his hair, the ones that weren't in contact with any skin and it was so amazing she secretly felt envious, for a man having such an amazing hair texture and she as a woman needed so many hair products.

As she was now absentmindedly playing with his rebel hair, she let her eyes roam on his body. She followed every rise of his chest with every breath he took, the simple action was so arousing and she was able to catch a glimpse of his neck and a part of his pectoral muscles, because of the slightly opened shirt. This man screamed raw sexiness in the most masculine way possible. He had such an amazing figure, he was just like a black puma and he somehow projected such a strong power on the outside that was almost overwhelming. Sakura was certain her face was as red as his favorite tomatoes and she was certain her body temperature raised a few degrees as well.

It was in that moment Sakura realized that she was barely dressed to being with. And all the warmth Sasuke`s hard body was projecting was engulfing her skin, piercing every pore, right to her heart. She felt like staying above an erupting volcano and it was the most overwhelming thing she had ever felt.

This man was making her feel things she didn't know were possible, she wanted to hug him and get lost into him, melt her skin on his pale one and get burned by his fire. She felt goose bumps on her uncovered skin and she was certain it was not because of the coldness of the air.

And when she raised her head and watched his face, Sakura thought she was seriously going to loose it for real. How was it possible for a man to be this perfect it was beyond her. His strong features were so regal looking, his lines so perfectly cut, like all the features he had were made by the finest jeweler. He was a living work of art. She was sure there weren't even five centimeters between them anymore, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Sakura couldn't only stare at his slightly opened mouth and his oh so kissable lips. She could feel his breath on her own face and lips and felt the same fire within him radiating on his every exhale. So close, so little space, she was only one breath away of destroying whatever trance of sanity was left on her mind and crash her lips on his.

She didn't know how a kiss felt like, she hasn't kissed any man in her all life and never did the urge felt more intense to do so, like in that very moment. She wanted so much to kiss him, it was forbidden, it was wrong and it was the biggest sin, but that very thought made Sakura feel so much pleasure, she thought she would die if she didn't do it right there and then.

It was not possible the way he made her lose herself around him and she never thought she was able to feel so attracted by someone she was certain she hated. She had two types of passion inside her heart: one that hated him with burning passion and the other that made her want him with burning passion. She realized in horror, how easy would have been to destroy everything in a moment of succumbing to temptation. Was it worthy being thrown away from Paradise?

She gently touched his left cheek and to add to the already impossibly irresistible attraction, he slightly, almost unnoticeably, leaned into her touch. And Sakura` s world exploded into billion of colors and fireworks, the sensation electrifying, she was walking on the clouds, her mind was shut down, her body was sinking in the prolonged agony of staying separated by his soft inviting lips, that almost inexistent distance that was going to be the death of all she accomplished until now and she couldn't bring herself to care right then.

She was almost sure she was going to spit unicorns and rainbows, her whole body was a giant torch and she felt little honey and sugar rivers flooding through her veins. It was a different kind of happiness and excitement, the way she felt was gravity defying. And she was barely touching him, how would it feel the real thing? How much more could this gorgeous man be able to make her feel?

But just when Sakura was about to completely loose it and do something regrettable, she was pulled out of the Sasuke induced trance, by a soft stir coming from her boss, followed by an incoherent mutter.

Oh dear Lord, he was starting to wake up. Sakura jumped at least 3 meters high on the sky, like he burnt her for real (and Sakura was sure he did, his hotness was able to do that, she was quite certain in another time, Sasuke was a strong ninja, dominated by the fire element…and lightning, the level of electricity she felt when touching him was like she stayed outside during a storm).

And of course she had to hit the Pelleas luxury Nella Vetrina Italian coffee table, with a beveled glass top and a stainless steel base, with her hip. Not only that, but in her desperate attempt to turn around and get her almost naked body out of Sasuke`s vicinity, she also hit the little decorative Greek statue's heads, that rested peacefully under the table (who the hell would put such a thing under his coffee table, it looked weird, like a voodoo practitioner lived there, not a single businessman) with her leg.

Fuckin Zeus, he had to be there from all the places, now she was going to have a deep painful bruise. And to add to the already screwed up situation, she successfully managed to stumble on the Laptop's cable (she didn't even see that Sasuke`s laptop was on the table too, of course she didn't, she was busy having erotic fantasies of him) and fell, successfully pulling the towel from her as well. If that was not the most embarrassing situation ever, Sakura didn't know what else could be more disastrous than this.

"Fuck…my head hurts…"

Oh correction, this is the most disastrous situation ever: her being spread out on the floor, naked and looking like shit and her boss now awake. If there was some alien or OZN around, Sakura silently prayed it would land on Sasuke`s yard and kidnap her. She wouldn't mind, anything to make her vanish from there.

She wanted to scream of frustration, she always managed to embarrass herself in front of her boss and that annoyed her to no end. She hated him like seriously, the magical mood now long forgotten.

"Shit..."

Sakura grabbed the towel, covered her naked body, threw a glance in Sasuke`s direction-oh he was not completely awake, good-and promptly sprinted out of the room on the stairs, with only one thought in mind: get dressed as fast as possible, how could she have been this distracted not to do this in the very fist moment she woke up, she didn't know.

Maybe it was the fact that she was used to live alone and walk naked often when she was in her house in Italy. She couldn't do this anymore of course. But no, as she wanted to promptly jump on the first three stairs, her boss decided to be a cockblocker:

"Haruno…"

Oh dear, please someone tell her he didn't see her hitting the mighty God Zeus` head under his expensive coffee table (it was no joke, everything this man had was branded and imported from the top luxury brands producers), or stumbling like a moron, with his towel around her from all the things. And she didn't want to think about the possibility of him being awake when she was harassing him…no that would mean the end of her.

"Y-Y-Yes Sir…"

Great, she was stuttering like some child that was caught with his hands in the peaches jam. Could she be more obvious than this? Gosh she was really stupid, stupid, stupid. And she was chanting in her mind for him to not rise from the sofa and look at her, cos she sure as hell knew that watching your maid walking around in your towel was anything but pleasant.

Not to say an act of extreme defiance, and Sasuke made it clear what kind of boss he was. And it was really weird and ridiculous and she has already embarrassed herself in front of him. Life hated her.

"Hn…bring me some cold water and painkillers and make it quick."

"Of course, Sir, I will be right back."

"Bah…the human walking ice cube wants cold water to fuel his stupid cold heart. Fucking imbecile, I am going to plant my foot in his demanding mouth. See if he feels the need to drink anything. I hope he dies of hangover. Jerk…"

Sakura cursed Sasuke all the way up to her room. She opened her drawer (God Katrina hurricane threw a party there and invited its friends Sandy and the Great Miami Hurricane, it was a total mess in there), picked up a long plain apron, took some hangover medicine (another of Orochimaru`s creations, it was his gift for Tsunade when she had her 50th anniversary.

Everybody died of laughter, it was a priceless memory and they haven't seen Tsunade that drunk angry before, the woman spit fire from her nostrils and chased Orochimaru with a banana in her hand-she thought it was a dagger- it was funny as hell) and went downstairs into the kitchen. She remembered putting a bottle of water into the fridge, for she also preferred her water to be extremely cold.

She went to the kitchen, opened the fridge and grabbed the bottle. She then went in his suffering boss` direction. The jerk was still dead on the couch. He didn't even move, he probably felt like falling from Kilimanjaro.

Sasuke felt like he was going to die. Everything in his body screamed S.O.S. Of course he had to receive a call from Naruto telling him he arrived in Tokyo and he wanted to meet as soon as possible. The blond idiot has called Suigetsu as well, as if one moron wasn't enough.

And Sasuke acting like the good friend he was, promptly told him to fuck off because he was busy, but the loud dobe told him if he didn't show his ass at some bar (Sasuke was too drunk to remember the name, nor did he care anyways, he was not going to go there anytime in this lifetime), he was going to tell everyone about some crazy fangirl that apparently had pictures of him running naked from her apartment and being chased by her poodle. It was ridiculous because Sasuke was sure he didn't encounter such an experience, but then again, he had many women and he was drunk almost all the times so one cannot be 100% sure. He would dig into the story later.

So, he went with the said dobe and Suigetsu at the said bar and drank his liver until he couldn't take it anymore. And Naruto, being even drunker (Sasuke was sure there wasn't even possible for a human being to be drunker than he was, but Naruto was perseverant in his stupid ness) wouldn't stop his loud mouth. Heavens, he talked about the stupidest things in the world and to make it worse, Suigetsu talked as well…in the same time.

That was a reason Sasuke drank like a sailor, the two imbecile friends were giving him hell. They were loud and drunk and he was too drunk to beat them up. He was able to escape them at some point when they left with some chicks (it might have been guys for all he knew, he was drunk and his mind was in La La Land), but he couldn't enjoy his drunken state because some hot brunette took the empty chair on his left, said something in what she hoped was a seductive low voice and out of nowhere she put one leg on his lap, grabbed his collar and shoved her tongue down his throat.

He made out with her for a while but she was too skimpy even for his taste. So he paid for the drinks (his and his gone friends as well, god they spent 1000$ on drinks, they were insane), took a taxi and went straight home. It was 5 in the morning when he threw his alcoholic body on the couch and entered a semi comatose state. Now Sasuke wasn't sure, it was most likely a dream, but he could have sworn he felt someone playing with his hair and touching his face, and judging by the softness of the hand, it belonged to a woman.

And it felt amazing, it was nothing like the women he bedded, this hand was gentle, almost caring and it was caressing him in a way only a lover would do, and it was soft as a feather, like the unknown woman was tasting waters and it was luring him in her direction, like a mermaid calling for the soul. And he couldn't help but lose himself in the feeling, it was as if the almost barely there touch was taking away his pain.

And the way she was playing with his hair, it was nothing like those whores did when they tried to pleasure him, by pulling his hair, as if that would be a major turn on or something (the only thing that they manage to turn on was his anger), it felt similar to what his mother did when he was a little child and he was sleeping in her arms, it was lovingly, motherly, like a gentle summer breeze and stirred something warm inside of him, something he didn't think was possible to feel for a woman. But he was too dizzy to register what exactly happened, he wanted to say something, urge her to go on but it only came as a mumble. Damn the stupid hangover. And the touch vanished as well.

Then Sasuke was abruptly awoken by a loud noise, like something hit his coffee table or something really close to him and then run away. And when he indeed started to wake up, the previous night's 20 drinks came and hit him full force. And almost unconsciously he called his maid's name and asked for medicine.

He felt like he was about to throw up every moment since then, but somehow he heroically manage not to. He felt like he was about to die. Maybe he should have called his life insurance company. He was too tired and to dizzy to even look her way. Not like he truly wanted to see the ugly looking woman's face first time in the morning. The alcohol was giving him enough nausea.

"Here you are Mr. Uchiha, your water and some medicine to cure the headache. I am going to prepare something to eat as well, it will help the nausea go away faster."

Sakura wanted to laugh at the irony. She knew tomato juice was extremely good for hangovers (she and Karin were partying every weekend and although Sakura wasn't a fan of getting drunk or drinking in general, you couldn't possibly go out with Karin and not get drunk, it was blasphemy, so Sakura knew exactly what was good for stomach and headaches. Not to mention she had Orochimaru and Tsunade to ask for medicine) and her shitfaced boss just happened to be a fan of tomatoes. Oh dear God, maybe that taste wasn't coincidental.

"What is that pill anyways, it looks weird. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Of course not, Sir, it is just a harmless traditional medicine from my country. Nothing to worry about."

"Yes, I would like to poison your pretty hangovered ass you conceited son of a bitch, and if I wanted too I sure as hell would be able to do so, but I wouldn't be this merciful, I wouldn't have chopped off your head and feed the sharks."

"Hn…like it would make it any different, I already feel like I am about to pass out any time."

Who cared about what kind of drug this maid was giving him, in that moment Sasuke would take anything that looked able to take away this stupid sick feeling. God his head was killing him and his stomach was a roller coaster. He was going to kill Naruto and Suigetsu, it was all their damn fault. And he had so many things to do as well. All he wanted was to go to his room, take a shower or even a bath and then die peacefully in his confy bad. He could feel the calling all right and it felt so far away. Damn this big house, why couldn't the bed come down and take him? And Sakura said something about food…

"Go get me some food, I will be in my room trying my best to take a shower."

"Need any help?"

"Hn…wanna give it to me?"

"Wha…"

Oh Dear Heavens, what the hell did she say? Sakura really wanted to die of embarrassment, she just wanted to be polite and she realized the innuendo when it was already out of her stupid mouth. And of course his boss was being himself and happened to have a kinky remark as well.

Damn even in his state, his perverted mind was fully alert. Was he Jirayia`s illegitimate child or were indeed many perverts in this world? Oh the nerve of this man…yeah she wanted to give him something all right, and it started with a mix of Arsenic and Cyanide.

"I`m sorry I didn't mean it like this…I uh…am going to prepare breakfast, take your time Sir…"

And she sprinted to the kitchen leaving a really tired and really smirking Sasuke behind. Oh this was priceless, he realized he was having too much fun mocking the little ugly fake farmer girl, the was she was reacting to every innuendo was making him mentally laugh, she basically screamed "virgin" and that amused him to no end. But first, he had to take a shower, fast.

Meanwhile, Sakura was intently preparing breakfast. And she knew exactly what his intoxicated boss needed, so she promptly cooked him French Herb Omlette, additionally putting some ginger, tomato juice and a banana. She was sure a man in his shape wasn't a fan of musli (he was most likely going to mock her telling something about him not being a damn horse to eat cereals) and yoghurt.

She wasn't a chef master, but so many years of living alone made her quite a good cook. And if that jerk was going to complain she was going to plant the eggs spatula down his throat. You know…to raise the level of iron in his system…all for his good health.

Sasuke came down from the shower and a strong smell of home cooked food hit his nostrils. God, it had been so much time since someone really cooked something for him, it was his mother that did that when she was visiting, but since she and his father decided to move away from Tokyo to Narita, that didn't happen so often anymore and he was quite sick of ordering food.

He didn't have time to make a decent meal, he was always on the road, taking care of his damn company, so his meals were always fast food from work (the sandwich machine vending was the best investment ever). And even as he was a really picky man when it came to food (he had the money to eat in the most extravagant places what the hell), it was making him salivate. So he went into the kitchen where Sakura was putting a good looking omlette into a plate.

"Hn…so I didn't hire you for nothing after all, that looks good."

Sakura was caught in her work so she didn't hear his boss enter the kitchen, but she realized she hadn't been scared like she should normally be. There was something in his oh so alluring deep voice that made her feel relaxed even enchanted. Oh well…what part of him wasn't alluring to begin with…oh really now, now she was associating every thought she had with this whore of a man. She should go and do some brain checking, maybe someone hacked her system.

"Thank you, Sir."

"…why this unusual combination? Bananas, really? Do I resemble a monkey or people give Darvin too much credit?

"Bananas are good for raising the Low levels of potassium, caused by the alcohol, which drained your body from water and makes you feel your muscles shaky and weak. Tomato juice contains simple sugars to get your glucose levels up and running again, in order to cease away fatigue and bad mood and the cysteine from eggs destroy toxins your body wasn't able to."

"Forget the maid part, I am going to hire you as my own dietitian."

"Eh…when you have friends like mine, you become quite an expert in hangovers. And I like to keep a healthy and balanced diet, I don't want to add toxins in my body. I have more respect for it than that."

"Hn…when you have friends like mine, you also need people like you around. I am sure working at the "farm" keeps you healthy, isn't it now?"

"That among…other things…"

Sakura was starting to feel nervous again. She wasn't exactly sure why Sasuke was having a casual conversation with her so early in the morning, he seemed to be more like the quiet type, but apparently he felt the need to mock her. Of course he was going to push her to slip the truth to him and he was quite good in luring people and turning the tables into his favor, but she wouldn't be trapped. He was a smart man, she was aware, but she wasn't a stupid woman either.

"Other things you found really convenient to skip from you CV, I suppose."

"I only shared the things I deemed important to qualify me for the job, Mr. Uchiha."

"That is for me to decide."

"But you have already decided Sir, and you decided to hire me."

"Hn…I decided to give you a chance, hiring would be a little too stretched."

"So it is up to me to prove myself worthy then?"

"No, there are many other worthy people out there, I want you to prove yourself trustworthy."

"I assure you Sir that I am a woman you can trust."

"You say it, but you don't prove it, Sakura."

Again, he said her name the way he did the day before, in the bathroom. He knew exactly what he was doing, the cocky bastard. He was playing his twisted mind games with her, he was cornering her, trying to start a casual conversation to make her let her guard down, gain her trust and make her tell him everything he needs to know, without her even realizing it.

Sasuke was the kind of man that knew exactly what to do to manipulate her into thinking she was in control and that would automatically lead to her being more self confident and open up more, that meaning spilling out more hidden things about herself. Sasuke knew exactly how to interpret things and any slip of tongue would mean he was having a clearer view of what he wanted to know. He was the one pulling the strings there and to top it all, he was a damn good actor as well. His mood swings were enough to mess with his "prey's" head. Sakura had to be extremely careful.

"So you are giving me a chance that is more like a final test to prove myself worth of your trust?"

"Hn…Listen Sakura, trust is something you rarely find in people, when you are a heir of a billion dollar international company, like me." Sasuke stood up from his chair and headed to a very confused Sakura.

"There are people out there that want me gone and for this particular reason, they are willing to do anything to approach me, gain my trust and then, take advantage of one particular moment when I won't have my guard up" He then stopped right in front of her, arms crossed, black eyes piercing her emerald ones.

"I cannot afford the luxury of playing trust games with you Sakura, and nor I have the time for this."

"And I cannot allow to be the object of your own insecurities and mistrust Sir, I am here to properly do my job in the spirit of good faith and dedication, but I will not play the role of your mystified conscience as well."

Sasuke was intrigued by the ugly little maid in front of him. This woman was so different from all the other people he has encountered. It was like she was holding back in front of him, acting like the humble servant that she wasn't and she was well aware of the fact that she could do more, but for unknown reasons, she tried to show him a completely different face. Like she had another person hidden deep inside her that was fighting to come to the light. This is what Sasuke wanted to know: how much exactly was this Sakura holding back?

And as usual, he knew exactly how to play his cards and break through her wall of confidence and lure her id outside his shell. She was clenching her feelings with her teeth in front of him; like she was going to break any moment and the aura surrounding her was constantly changing, like she was having an inner turmoil she was fighting as well.

Sasuke wanted to smirk at the very thought. She dared to mentally battle him with such little self confidence and so much inner conflict? Didn't she know that a little boat has no chance of crossing the ocean during the storm?

She was not the strong lady she appeared to be, although they way she spoke betrayed she was composed in her behavior, her mind calculated, like she was following his every step and try to come up with the best counterstrategy and he could feel her eyes on him, fully alert and almost edgy, like she was expecting him to read her soul and see the vulnerability. Why those insecurities? And he couldn't read into her very core, she had the windows shut and then it stroke him exactly how could he have a clearer vision of her inner thoughts.

So Sasuke took two more steps forward, coming closer to a very confused Sakura, his impossible dark eyes never leaving her face, successfully pinning her into his spellbound. She looked like she wanted to back away from him, but she refrained from do so. She didn't want to appear weak and faltering in front of him. Sasuke didn't hide his devious smirk this time.

Good. Sasuke stopped only when there were only less then ten centimeters away and with slow and calculated movements and the gentleness of a feline, he moved his digit to Sakura`s left cheek and as slowly as he could, let it slip to her ear and proceeded to take the ugly glasses from her eyes. All the times his smirk and endless dark orbs never leaving her own. She played hard to get, very well, two could play the game.

"Hn…If you are to accede to what Cicero said, then Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi. I wonder what your eyes would speak about, if you were to not constantly confine them from me all the times, Sakura…"

Meanwhile, Sakura`s mind had a crack. Not only her boss was invading her private space again, but he was too impossibly close and irresistible and…he wanted to take away the glasses. A strong grip grabbed Sasuke`s hand just in time.

"While it might be true that the face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter, I personally wouldn't give too much credit to Cicero in terms of human emotions; after all, his philosophy was subordinated to politics. I wouldn't involve such a delicate subject to such a shallow topic."

If Sasuke was shocked by her action, he was good in hiding it. "Really now? You would be surprised of how many things have a political meaning nowadays, Sakura."

It was exactly this view of things people like Sasuke had, that pissed Sakura to no end. Always trying to find what was better for them, giving the others a hypocritical appearance of concern. Gosh that man was odious. "It might be, but only for people that are too maudlin and licentious to see the deeper meaning of the things."

"Do you suggest that I fall into the said category? Be careful, it is your boss you are calling insensitive."

"I don't mean to sound rude, Mr. Uchiha, but I will not abandon my convictions in favor of sounding servile and dig my way to success. It is not the way I was educated."

"Hn…and here I thought you didn't play the part of my conscience…"

"Conscience my ass…this jerk doesn't even know the definition of the term…and the bastard didn't take away his hand…"

"I don't. But I don't understand how a maid's opinion matters for such an important man like you, Sir." She was getting impatient and nervous, why was this man asking such weird questions, when he only needed her to prepare him food and do the laundry. This was not what Sakura had in mind when she started the mission.

"Your way of thinking is quixotic and childish, this is why you do not see the bigger picture, Sakura. But I am glad I managed to force a honest remark from you, even thought I know now what kind of man do you think I am." Sasuke didn't even try to stop himself from smirking at her puzzled expression. This was one interesting woman.

"Allow me to tell you that your ways of interviewing people are tiring and unconventional, Sir."

"Hn…I am an unconventional man." Sasuke turned his back to Sakura, easily slipping his hand away from her strong grip and went back to the table. But instead of sitting and finishing his meal, he took the plate and the bottle of tomato juice and threw one more glance at her, before exiting the kitchen:

"I will be in my office for the time being. I need to be at work at 11:30 a.m. As you probably saw, you are the only maid I allow to stay into my house. Twice a week there are people coming to dust my house entirely, take care of the swimming pool and garden, so you don't not need to be concerned with these things. I want you to take care of the meals and clean my room and my office. And try to stay away from things are not of your concern, I do not like people to interlope with my business."

"Of course, Mr. Uchiha."

Sakura watched her boss` back until she couldn't see him anymore. Then she let her body promptly fell with her back on the fridge (she didn't remember how she got there in the first place). Her face was on fire and her pulse rate was so high she thought she was going to have combustion.

"What in the world…this man is crazy as hell! Damn annoying prick and his twisted mind games." Of course Sakura knew what kind of game was he playing, after all no other normal boss would permit his maids to talk so rudely to them, but Sasuke didn't seem to mind she was basically insulting his guts.

But he seemed more interested than insulted. God he was a weirdo. And why the hell was he interested in her way of thinking? Sakura wasn't aware that maids nowadays must have a philosophical thinking while cleaning dishes. Gosh she had more chances to survive a plane crush. And his hand was so warm and felt so good on her own…

Sakura was intently thinking about the early conversation while washing the dishes (she hated using the dishwasher, she never knew the proper quantity of detergent required and she didn't want to turn Sasuke`s kitchen into a foam party) and unconsciously her mind was drifting from the conversation to his handsome boss and their close proximity. And once again, she found herself caught into his spell. She was so trapped.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was finishing his meal into his private office thinking about the same things as Sakura. And he couldn't help but think about why in the world was she hiding her appearance as well? Did she really think he would make a move on her and risk a media scandal with him engaged in his maid's abuse?

"Hn…silly girl."

And of course, the way she spoke and her vast knowledge were not ones you would find in a maid. This is exactly why she lured her into opening up and talk to him, daring her to oppose him and reveal her true personality. You wouldn't find a maid speaking Latin and know about Roman philosophers and politics. He was right, she was hiding something. And this intrigued him to no end.

"I am going to figure you out little Cherry Blossom. You are not that much of the smart woman you think you are..."

RIIIINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

"Hn…"

"I thought you were not going to answer this line anymore. Busy?"

"State your business, I don't have time to play."

"Ku Ku Ku…and here I thought we could use some time to catch up. I miss our little chit-chat. It is hard to find challenging people nowadays."

"Just make it quick. I am sure you didn't call to make up for the lost time. A man like you always has an ulterior motive."

"I see you still have that sharp mind of yours. But remember, patience is a virtue. I am sure you know the implications of rushing things, don't you?"

"If you called just to lecture me, I am hanging up. I have better things to do than wasting time talking to relics of the past."

"That hurt, you know. Very well then, I will tell you the reason why I contacted you. I am sure you are aware of the fact that things are getting a little heated."

"Some pests are not going to slow me down."

"Be careful, their actions have became erratic. We cannot properly predict what their next moves will be."

"I am not going to be caught off guard like the other fools."

"Heh…you still speak with confidence. But I am sure those are not just empty words."

Smirk. "Hn, you know me."

"And this is precisely why I tell you to take care. You tend to become a little too excited."

"I don't need babysitting. Mind your goddamn stuff."

"Heh…That could be debatable…"

"I am sure you know better than to underestimate me"

"True. But remember, I am keeping a close eye on you."

"Hn…"

BEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Sasuke slammed the phone on the desk. Now he was pissed off. He heard it from his brother, from his teachers, from his older brother and even from his friends: he needed to take care, to proceed with caution and to stop being impetuous. Like he was some silly child that needed to be watched closely.

"Fucking imbeciles…"

Sasuke went upstairs, threw some casual clothes (he was the almost there CEO of the company, he didn't give a damn about rules or what others thought of him), grabbed his car keys and went downstairs. He was going to take his time and study the market and his almost non-existing business competitors, until the idiot he was about to meet that day to talk about the upcoming charity Ball was going to show his ugly face to his office.

But as angry as he was, Sasuke couldn't contain a small smirk upon seeing the lunch box that awaited him in the hall, on the same small glass table that supported a very poisonous famous cacti. And the message was even cuter: "have a great day at work Mr. Uchiha. The apple is for the daily riboflavin, thiamin, and vitamin B-6 intake to keep the nervous system in good shape. Sakura"

"Hn… silly girl." Sasuke took the lunch box and exited his house. At least he was not going to punch the sandwiches vending machine anymore. That thing was getting old.

Upstairs, Sakura sighed in relief. Gosh she thought he was not going to take the lunch box. She had inserted a nanoscopic scale tracking device in the apple. It consisted of a small capsule, coated by a polymer barrier, mainly containing Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose phthalate, that made it resistant to the highly acidic ph of the gastric acid.

When Sasuke would eat the apple, he would ingest the device as well, enabling Sakura to keep an eye on him whenever he went, by having a satellite view. And it was harmless for the body as well, because the device was made to be non resistant to alkaline ph and was removed naturally from the small intestine after 24 hours.

She activated the tracking device and then opened her special Laptop. She needed to find out what was wrong with the high electromagnetic field from her boss` office. She turned the computer on and inserted the password, then dialed the number of The Directorate of Science and Technology. All the agents were calling each other from their phones or Laptops using a broadband internet connection that was extremely safe and difficult to hack.

DIAL IN PROGRESS, PLEASE WAIT FOR REPLY

HELLO, YOU HAVE DIALED THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY RESTRICTED NETWORK, PLEASE ENTER YOUR PASSWORD AND ID

ID: Sakura "Athena" Haruno

Password: Cherry-233256442123-Sound

Enter

WELCOME TO CIA`S EXCLUSIVE CALL SERVICE MISS HARUNO, TO MAKE A CALL PLEASE PRESS 1 KEY

Sakura pressed 1.

PLEASE WAIT FOR AN OPERATOR TO TAKE YOU INCOMING CALL

"Hello, my name is Lucy Adams and you are now using the CIA network, how can I be of your help?"

"Put me to DS&T."

FORWARDING CALL IN PROGRESS, PLEASE WAIT

"Your call has been forwarded to The Directorate of Science and Technology. Please press key 23. Have a great day."

Press:23

DIALING

"This is Idate Morino from the DS&T, how can I help you?"

"Hello, Idate, this is Sakura Haruno from the Sound. Give me Shino Aburame."

"I am sorry Miss Haruno, Mr. Aburame is having a meeting right now and cannot answer your call. Would you like to leave him a message?"

"Yes please, I would like him to analyze the level on an electromagnetic field. I am going to send you the results of the EMF meter. Tell him to contact me as soon as he has the results. Please tell him it is urgent."

"Of course Miss, I am going to make sure he gets the message as soon as possible."

"Thank you. Goodbye"

"Have a nice day Miss Haruno."

END CALL. NETWORK CONNECTION SHUT DOWN

"Oh well…now to baby sit Sasuke-chan. Hehehehe I should call him Sasuke-chan more often, he deserves it after all, he is just like a brooding child."

BEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS

"What now?"

Just as Sakura accessed the satellite connection to be ready to receive the signal from the device as soon as her boss was going to eat his lunch, she heard a loud BEEPPPPP from her emergency pager. That was an universal pager that all the CIA agents from all around the world had and was used to send an SOS in case of emergencies for all the agents in the nearby area to come and provide backup. It usually meant something really bad happened.

"An SOS from Tokyo? But the only agents in Tokyo are me and the Akatsuki….wait a sec…Akatsuki?! And the signal is close to where the Mangekyou`s main header quarter is located…SHIT SHIT!"

Sakura took exactly 3 minutes to take her agent clothes and be ready. If Akatsuki encountered troubles in Tokyo it was probably not ordinary killers or mafia. And not ordinary meant Lorane and she knew what Lorane was after.

She was out of the house in a second, already dialing Orochimaru`s private number.

That was bad.

….

Author's Note: Many thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows:*

Also, to answer some of the questions:

Yes, Sakura is supposed to always keep an eye on Sasuke, but it doesn't necessary imply being with him all the times. Sasuke doesn't trust her so much at this point, but they will get to spend more time together in the future. Also, it would be too risky for both of them to reveal Sakura`s true identity. And no, Sasuke doesn't know Sakura.

I apologize if the story was boring up until now, but the details were necessary to clarify some things. I promise there will be a lot of action from now on.