Things We Do For Love

CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT

Y/N'S P.O.V

It had been a tiresome day. Unusual to our routine, the chores never seemed to end. All of us woke up early in the morning and immediately began working around the orphanage, ensuring not a nook and cranny went untouched. My friends and I were currently cleaning the upper floor with scrubs, bucket of hot, soapy water and rags. My knees hurt as I tied my skirt closer to my thighs and used all the force on my tender arms to get rid of a stain that appeared to be a decade old. Naomi was cleaning the windowsill gently, afraid that the wooden board would break on the slightest pressure whereas Saaya had been spraying the sink with disinfectant. Our minds were occupied on individual tasks that we barely conversed but still, we kept on looking at each other with concern.

None of us could guess when exactly this happened because the suddenness still stupefied the group. It seemed that Midori-toji just changed her attitude one night and decided to keep it permanent. The unease was felt by all the residents and we didn't know how to address her intolerance over petty situations. We walked around eggshells and even then, our mistress would find reasons to yell and vilify us. Not a single girl had been able to evade such harsh criticisms; I, too, being one of the victims of her outbursts. If our work was not good enough for the woman, we were punished severely. Gone were the evenings when we could spend time outside and Kami forbid if we made a mistake in front of her. Our choreographies were scrutinized to the point where some of us ended up crying silently and started doubting our skills. I was troubled to see my mistress's depleting mental health and my friends knew exactly what the cause was.

"Ask him to visit her." Saaya whispered carefully. The name was criminalized in the house and no one dared to even joke about the shinobi. It was only when Midori-toji brought his name up were we allowed to indulge or even acknowledge his presence. None of the girls in our house could talk about him and the idea of developing a small crush was out of the question. By this time, we had some ideas about her questioning obsession over the man.

"I am not doing this." I scrubbed the blue stain that I soon recognized was nail polish.

"Please! For the love of Kami," Naomi looked at me angrily, "get that man here and let him fuck Midori-toji's brains out!"

"How can you expect me to say that to him? I – no!"

"She is driving me crazy! That woman is like... in love with him or something. He can spare some of his time for her, right?"

"Y/N," Saaya threw her rag on the sink and folded her arms frustratedly, her obsidian hair neatly braided and bangs curtained those luscious blues, "His dick isn't getting any younger. Plus, free sex! What more can he want?"

"Jeez, let me guess." I put my forefinger on my chin in a mocking stance, "Privacy? Not having a young girl tell him who he should sleep with? The ability to choose his partners?"

"Yeah but him choosing another woman is our death sentence. She has gone ballistic," Naomi hushed her voice lower, "She makes us practice and then sends us off to clean the house, on a daily basis! Am I supposed to wash the entire house every day? What are we even cleaning?"

"Stains and dust?"

"Y/N, these are stains that won't come off just because of cleaning. We need to paint and get things fixed. She is taking it out on us because she has lost control over that silver rat."

"Hey, easy on the words. That silver rat is one of the reasons why Konoha is safe." I tried keeping the conversation civil.

"And he is also the reason why the dynamics in this household changed. Midori-toji isn't right in here," Naomi pointed to her head, "and do you want to imagine how she will react when she sees him with another woman?"