SasuSaku: Worth The Risk

Chapter 7

AN: You guys~ *sniffles* All this support and feedback literally makes me so happy! Thank you so much!

Unsurprisingly, Sakura didn't sleep well at Sasuke's house. She knows he doesn't own it, but she didn't know how else to refer to it yet, so that's what she called it. The woman hadn't slept well at her apartment, either. The paranoia wouldn't allow it. The thought that the object of her terror could burst through the door at any moment constantly kept Sakura on her toes. She even sleeps with a knife under her pillow. That wasn't something she just picked up.

Ever since the woman woke up a few years ago to- 'Don't think about that now. You'll start panicking. Focus on cleaning.'

It's been two weeks since she moved in, and despite the lack of rest, Sakura could honestly say she appreciates Sasuke for hooking her up with this job. Sure, most of the people she ran into were intimidating, but they left her alone, so she followed the rules and kept her head down and mouth shut.

The only thing that'd happened was Hidan made a grab for her backside when she was scrubbing a particularly difficult stain on the kitchen floor. When she yelped in surprise and scurried away from him, Sasuke, who'd been doing schoolwork at the table, gave the silver-haired man a terrifying threat to back off.

If she'd been on the receiving end of those words, Sakura might've peed her pants. Apparently, Hidan felt the same way because he apologized shortly after and hasn't tried anything like that since.

A few of the men here, Sakura liked more than the others. For example, Sasori and Deidara, art majors at school, didn't frighten her as Hidan, Tobi, and sometimes even Sasuke did because they were too obsessed with their work and one another.

Blushing, the woman shook her head and tried to forget the image of the two in a very indecent state in the den. She'd been so stunned and embarrassed that she nearly fainted. Sasuke laughed at her face so hard that he was in tears.

On the sixth day of her residency, she came to understand why they made her sign a non-disclosure agreement.

While removing cobwebs from the ceilings with one of those long-handled dusters, she overheard Yahiko, Sasuke, and Nagato conversing. Though she couldn't make out everything they said, the words "exsanguination" and "got the message" were enough to make the girl scamper away from the area. She didn't want to know because then she'd be even more uncomfortable and on edge than she already was.

On the topic of Sasuke, the man was so hot-and-cold that it gave her emotional whiplash. He's annoying and flirty when they're alone, but he's icy and terrifying when anyone else is around. Sakura was too afraid to ask about it. After a few days of the odd occurrence, she picked up on the pattern and tried to adapt so things would go smoothly between them.

Their relationship, if it could be called that, was toxic, and Sakura was well aware of the fact. When Hidan laid eyes on her in the hallway and asked the Uchiha man if he had a death wish, she knew he'd brought her there for purely selfish reasons. That, plus the fact that he barely pulled back on the flirting when she'd requested it, was all she needed to see to understand how his mind works.

In his eyes, he owns her until that contract runs out.

That meant, to a certain degree, that he'd say and do whatever he wanted. It also meant he didn't care if her feelings were hurt or if she was scared. Either she catered to his personality and desires, or she'd likely have the worst year of her life.

So, Sakura did it even though it left her more disheartened by the day.

The moment any other person came into a room they were in, she'd lower her head, close her mouth, and focus solely on whatever task she was working on. When they were alone, it's not like she spoke much, but she didn't have to physically make herself appear meek and could work more leisurely.