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Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Belongs to the ingenious Masashi Kishimoto.
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Chapter One
"Sakura Haruno, if you value your job, get your ass here now!"
The pink haired girl grimaced at the shrill voice. Be out of sight for half a minute, then Karin the boss would breath fire at you like a dragon. Sighing, Sakura complied reluctantly as she walked out of the bathroom with one last look at the mirror: tousled pink hair that was tied up into a messy bun, a scruffy apron that was coated with stains and dark rings that encircled jade eyes.
Black boots (that Sakura thought she could never afford) tapped the floor impatiently. Karin huffed with an irritable expression on her face, readjusting her glasses against the bridge of her nose. From experience, Sakura knew that she was about to get her daily dose of rebuke (and spit) from Karin.
"I don't pay you to slack off, you know. Now stop being useless and get back to your station," she snapped. "Don't let me catch you anywhere else, Haruno. Is that clear?"
"Yes," Sakura muttered dryly.
Life was tough when you had two jobs and a skank for an employer, but Sakura had to manage. To stay in the prestigious Konoha High and to help with family finance, she had part time jobs at Karin's Bakery Café and Hyuuga Music. Hyuuga Music was a branch of prominent music superstores that were major instrument retailers - its CEO was none other than Hiashi Hyuuga, the father of Sakura's prosperous classmate, Hinata. As for Karin's Bakery Café… well, the name says it all.
Sakura watched the redhead walk off, resisting the urge to pummel her to death. If she weren't desperate for some cash, she wouldn't have hesitated to rearrange her face. Tenten, her fellow worker and good friend, sidled up to the pinkette's side.
"She's a bitch," Tenten said under her breath.
"Bitch is an understatement," Sakura said frowning, squirting icing on some cupcakes. "And she has to pick on me."
Tenten shook her head and grinned mischievously. Sakura stopped from her icing-squirting and looked up. When Tenten grinned like this, it meant that something good was about to happen – typically something that involved Karin in pain. "Don't look all sad. I have a little something that'll cheer you up. I called Suigetsu in for a favour."
"Really?" Sakura asked, a broad smile gracing her lips, "You never fail to surprise me, Tenten. What did you tell him to do?"
"Look."
Sakura glanced towards where Tenten gestured. Karin was sitting out under the café's patio when Suigetsu, the gardener from next door "accidentally" sprayed water from the hose all over her. The girls watched, fighting off uncontrollable laughter as Karin shrieked, her clothes drenched. The pair was caught in a silent laughing fit, hardly able to keep their giggles to themselves. But their small parade was short-lived as Karin cried, "HARUNO!"
After mopping the floor, cleaning the dishes (although they were already cleaned in the first place), wiping the tables, picking up Karin's laundry, scrubbing the permanently stained kitchen walls, passing out flyers under the hot afternoon sun, wiping the windows, cleansing the toilet and replacing light-bulbs as punishment for the Suigetsu scheme that somehow involved her, Sakura wanted to pass out.
She thought the day would never come when her shift actually ended. She looked at the clock like it was heaven. What could possibly ruin this moment?
"Haruno, not just yet." Ah yes, her. Sakura cringed at Karin's voice. What did she want now?
"You're in luck. Remember that delivery service we discussed? Well, we got our first call. You can have the honours of transporting our first delivery… using the bike, of course," Karin said nastily.
"But my shift is--"
"Not over. You're lucky you're still in my employment after today, Haruno. Do the delivery if you want to see your next paycheck."
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"Gaara, you were up already, jan?" a disoriented Kankuro grumbled, his hair tangled from slumber, still dressed in his pajamas. He rubbed the back of his head subconsciously. "Come on, it's summer. Who wakes up before this time?"
"Hn." The redhead decided to ignore the remark from his brunette brother and spoke quietly. "It's already past noon."
"Oh," Kankuro chuckled briskly, "Well, at least I didn't wake up at dinner."
Black rings encircled Gaara's eyes, showing signs of insomnia. He placed his half-empty cup of coffee onto their glass table and sighed. He just had another all-nighter after a rather edgy "discussion" with their father from Suna. It wasn't even a proper conference as they discussed the matters over the phone very hastily. Probably in a hurry to fuck his latest girlfriend, Gaara thought darkly.
Kankuro eyed his younger brother and winced. Guilt surged into him as he realized he was incapable of easing Gaara's pain. But what could he do? It was their cruel, loveless father they were disputing with here. The role of comforting the two brothers usually belonged to their sister Temari, but she wasn't here right now, which meant that it was Kankuro's turn. Unlike Temari, Kankuro wasn't a girl, therefore he believed that it was only natural he was clueless at these things. The only problem now - what to do. Give him a hug? Yeah, and get punched in the face, Kankuro mused bitterly. Silence slipped into the room.
"I better go now," Gaara mumbled, his pale hands dipping into the dark jeans' pockets, fumbling for keys. Kankuro snapped out of his thoughts and forged a smile.
"And where're you going?"
"For a drive." He proceeded to the towering front doors of their luxurious mansion. Yes, that was it. A drive could always take his mind off of things. Things like failing to be acknowledged by their father who worked all the way over in Suna, shipping his children off to Konoha so he could have more "space" and- stop thinking about it, Gaara growled inwardly.
"Gaara, aren't you forgetting to say goodbye to someone?"
A black kitten meowed unwillingly as Kankuro picked him up, threatening with its small furry paws whilst it hissed in protest.
"At least now we know two of us here aren't balls of sunshine," Kankuro teased. He held the raven kitten in front of Gaara, as if the feline really wanted a farewell.
The corner of the redhead's lips rose ever so slightly, but it was still pegged as a smile. He sighed in defeat after looking at Kankuro's persistent demonstration. "Bye, Kuroari."
Kuroari meowed in return.
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Sakura pumped the pedals of the infernal bike vigorously, sweat pouring down the side of her face. She cursed Karin as she blurred past pedestrians in a whoosh. When I find another job, I'm quitting this one in a flash, Sakura thought sourly. She slowed down as the scenery around her adapted into a greener environment. Ah, it was the wealthy district of Konoha, homes of Sakura's many classmates. She tried to hide her face – she didn't want to be recognized by anyone from school, although her blatant pink hair would neglect her efforts anyways.
Magnificent houses shone under the glistening sun as Sakura squinted, trying to identify the customer's house. Who the hell would order so many cookies and biscuits? Instantly, an image of some old ladies sipping tea with their pinkies high up in the air popped into Sakura's mind. Whoever they were, they better give her a decent amount of tip. She needed to earn as much as she could before summer—
BANG!!
Pain surged into Sakura's head as she came into contact with something very hard. Her body thudded against the bike as cookies poured onto the road. When she opened her eyes, she saw a tall figure coming out of a sleek black Lamborghini (apparently it was the "something" that she crashed into), and a few stars. Shakily, she pushed herself off of the ground, standing up feebly.
Then she froze.
A stunning redhead with brilliant green eyes stood before of her, silhouetting against the bright sky. A tattoo of a kanji was on the left side of his forehead. He had a handsome face and a well-built form. Trying to hide her sudden fondness for the teenage boy, she returned back to where she was – panicking.
The cookies.
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Gaara had hardly driven past five houses when he slowed down at a stoplight, which was when some pink blur out of nowhere collided with the front of his car. He was anxious about whether the person was injured, but his worry died when he saw a girl's figure getting up.
The girl looked fatigued, with eye bags (although not as big as his) and dry skin. She stared at him for a moment before dropping her weight to the ground like a stone, picking up the cookies frantically, like they were diamonds. He looked more closely and realized she was bleeding slightly on the head.
"Um," he began awkwardly, "Are you okay?"
No reply. The pink-headed girl slapped herself on the forehead, seemingly in hysterics, before realizing that blood was on her palm from where she just touched. For a brief moment, Gaara wondered if that pink hair was actually natural. He shook that trivial thought away, appalled as her eyes rolled up and closed, head leaning against the car's headlights.
Before Sakura knew it, she was hurtling into an awaiting world of darkness…
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A/N: Dun-dun-dun! Cliffhanger!! So what do you guys think? This is supposedly my first fic, lol. Drop a comment, review, opinion or anything. Constructive criticism is welcome. :D
