disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Ch. 1 Meetings

Sakura POV

Soft sunlight shined through the ratty blinds, onto the sleeping girl. Her pink hair strewn over the light blue pillow. There were many other different colored pillows around her mattress, all looking a little worse for wear. The mattress laid in the middle of the small room, so worn, it was almost a futon. She was covered in several blankets, each had a flowery, bright pattern on it. There was a small kitchen on the side of the room, consisting of a stove, a sink and a microwave. There was a lamp on the floor next to her, and a small electric fan next to that. Suddenly, the little alarm clock started to blink 6:00.

-static-

-Good Morning, Konoha! It's going to be a bright and sunny day, expect clear skies and a little wind. Now, let's start this morning off with some feel good music!-

A pop melody started to fill the room, the girl moved under her many blankets. A creamy white hand reached out from under the covers and grabbed the clock. The blankets fell away, revealing a green eyed woman. She slowly blinked, trying to get the sleep out of her emerald orbs. A soft sigh left her mouth as she glanced and the time on the clock. A smile slowly spread across those pink lips. She rolled off of her mattress, onto the floor, becoming a mass of blankets and pillows. Today was the day. The day where she, Sakura Haruno, would start her new job.

Sakura struggled in the mess for a while, and quickly threw them away from her as soon as she got free. She ran to a room to the other side of the room, where there was a small bathroom. She laughed slightly in excitement, and anticipation.

She had sent the application into Sharingan Inc. a couple months ago, but had no real hope of ever getting accepted. Her best friend, Naruto Uzamaki, who was an employee at Sharingan, had insisted that Sakura apply for the opening. She had moved to Konoha a year ago. Sakura had gotten a job at a little cafe in front of the Sharingan building. It was at the cafe that she met Naruto. He stopped by the cafe in morning at 7:50, and because of his chatty, easy going attitude, they became friends quickly. Sakura, being in a new and kind of scary, city was grateful for the chit-chat. She hadn't really known anyone outside of her job, and Naruto was a welcome change. He would always order two coffees, one carmel macchiato and one, regular black coffee. And he would always plead with whoever was making the coffee to hurry up, because he had work in a couple minutes and he couldn't be late again. Sakura, who worked at the cash register, would smile and laugh at him every time. And even though he had been running late that day, he stopped at her smile, and gave her a curious look. He asked her if she was new, and Sakura laughed, asking if it was that obvious. He had given a loud laugh, and they were instantly friends.

That's how it worked with Naruto, he was so easy to be friends with. Sakura was glad he had spoken to her, because now, she didn't even remember life before Naruto. She couldn't even imagine a life without his loud self. The day after their first meeting, Naruto asked her to lunch, and Sakura was apprehensive about it at first, but then decided, what did she have to lose? And they have seen each other everyday since. One day, at random, Naruto came bursting through cafe door waving some papers wildly in the air. He explained that his boss just fired his secretary and no one was being accepted for the now open position. Naruto promised that he could get her application looked at for sure. And a few days ago, low and behold, she got the call! Sakura had immediately called Naruto and they had both celebrated by going to the ramen shop down the street from the cafe.

She stepped inter her tiny, yet cozy, shower. The water in her apartment stayed hot for about five minutes before it became ice. So Sakura, after a few rough tries, had learned to make her showers quick and short. The warm water fell delicately onto her shoulder, Sakura moaned in appreciation. Yesterday at the cafe, her boss Gai made her help move coffee beans from the truck to the kitchen. He insisted that she use her youth well, so Sakura ended up doing most of the lifting, while Gai encouraged her from the sidelines. And, now she could feel a slight pull in her muscles.

Sakura opened her closet. She had worked a little bit extra to buy a new set of work clothes. A couple of blouses, two pencil skirts and black heeled pumps now held a special place in her closet. They were worth about the same amount as her rent, and she had been reluctant to even buy them. But, Sakura realized she couldn't show up at a place like Sharingun Inc. with a summer dress and flats. She pulled out a light pink blouse and her black shirt. Sakura really didn't know much about Sharingan, so she had borrowed Gai's laptop and googled them. She found out that it is a legal corporation. It was a company that had many branches around the world, and they basically take the legal matters of other companies into their hands. The company was filled with highly skilled lawyers. Sakura finished putting on her pumps, and wondered if Naruto was a lawyer. It didn't seem like it, but she really couldn't tell for sure, Sakura never asked him about his work.

Walking towards her kitchen, she realized that she doesn't really know what Naruto does. She pulled out some bread from her mini-fridge. Naruto mentioned his coworkers sometimes, but nothing else. And, she never really felt the need to ask. She knew his personality like the back of her hand, but his professional life? It never really came up. Sakura placed a piece of bread in her toaster and pulled down the lever. As soon as she pushed down, the lever broke.

She cursed under her breath, it had been time for her to replace it months ago. Gai had given her it, because he had recently bought a new one. She took it gladly, even though it looked like it had seen better days. It worked well enough, had worked well enough. Sometimes the toast was burnt and sometimes it popped out the same way she put it in. She peered into the toaster. The bread was stuck. Sakura shrugged, it seems like she'll be eating breakfast later on. She unplugged the toaster and was using a fork to try to get the bread out when the phone rang.

With the fork still in one hand, she answered, "Hello?"

"Saaaaaaakkkuraaaaaaaa" She pulled the phone slightly away from her ear, and smiled/

"Naruto! Why are you-"

"Sakura! Don't you know what day it is? We don't have time for chit chat!" He whined into the phone.

"Do you even know the time?" she asked, throwing the fork into the sink, and glancing at the clock, 6:30. The bus didn't even come until 7:15.

"Eh, that's not important. What is important is that you need to give me your address so I can pick you up. Let's go to work together!" She could hear the smile in his voice.

She laughed, "I'll meet you outside the building, and we can go together from there."

"Saaakurra! You never let me come over!" Naruto whined, "I don't think I've ever been to your house! How are you getting there, anyway? You don't have a car! ...Wait, Do you have a car? You don't right? ...Right?!"

"No, Naruto, I don't have a car, but there are things called taxis," Sakura gave up on trying to get the bread out, as soon as she tried to pull the fork out though...it was also stuck.

"Shoot, Naruto, I'm gonna have to call you back later, let's just meet up in front of the cafe." As they said their good byes, Sakura sighed in relief.

She dodged that one, but sooner or later, Naruto will ask why she never tells him anything about her house. She scoffed, if you can even call it a house. Sakura looked around the small room that was her apartment. She found out about this apartment through an ad when she first came to Konoha. It was cheap. That's all that mattered. Living in the city was expensive, and to find a place that offered all that this apartment did was nearly impossible. For a couple hundred dollars a month she had a kitchen, a bathroom, hot water, electricity and a sturdy lock. It was more that she could have ever hoped for. She wasn't ashamed of her apartment, just...

Naruto knows that she doesn't make a lot of money, but there's no way she would every tell him how much she struggled to keep a roof over her head. Sakura had too much pride for that. She grabbed her new purse, given to her by Naruto. He had gifted it to her soon after he found out that she had gotten the job. This would be her first time using it. She ran her fingers delicately over the black silk purse, feeling the soft, smooth fabric. It was probably the most expensive thing she owned. Naruto was truly a blessing in her life. This job payed five times more than her current one at the cafe. If this jobs stays in her life, she wouldn't have to worry about having enough money to pay for the electricity. There had been a couple of weeks where she had gone with out it, and it was utterly horrible. She wouldn't have to live pay check to pay check. Maybe even get a cell phone, all she had was her landline. She could buy a space heater!

Sakura shook her head at her musings. Just because she might make more money, shouldn't mean that she spend it all, it should mean that she wouldn't have to worry about keeping this roof over her head. She opened her front door, taking a deep breath. The bus stop was a couple of streets down, about a ten minute walk. She started walking feeling light on her feet. Everything looked different. The sun seemed brighter, the air smelled cleaner. Sakura laughed at herself. Her job hadn't even started, and she was filled to the brim with excitement. Sakura saw her stop at the other side of the street. She started walking faster, keeping her eyes on the sky. This was it! This was her chance. People didn't get opportunities like this, and she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her life might actually be taking a turn for the bett-

A screaming horn interrupted her thoughts. Sakura looked to the noise and saw the front of a car heading straight for her. She saw it in slow motion, just like in the movies. All sound seemed to stop slowly, like someone was turning the volume of the world down with a control. Her body, frozen in...shock? Fear? Sakura couldn't tell. All she knew was that the car was coming closer and closer. Her hands brought her purse up, almost like a shield. As if it would so anything. Sakura heard the loud, ugly sound of car tires screeching. She closed her eyes. Was this how it was going to end? She didn't even say goodbye to Naruto, or that cat in front of her cafe, or even Gai! She heard a loud honk. It startled her into opening her eyes.

The car had stopped a few centimeters in front of her. All the breath left her body at once. All her energy seemed to have run away, too, for her legs collapsed under her at the same time. Her shield, or purse, was still held out in front of her. Sakura's mind was blank. In front of her, the car door opened. She heard light steps coming toward her, and then saw a figure kneel down next to her through her peripheral vision. Sakura couldn't really see anything. Her brain just wasn't processing anything.

"Get up, I didn't hit you." A soft, clear, and emotionless voice startled her in dropping her purse. The contents spilled out everywhere around them. The sound of the voice startled her, making her take a deep, sudden breath, yet she found that she couldn't get enough air. Sakura started gasping for air, but felt like she wasn't getting any.

"Hey, are you okay?" the deep tone of the voice made her jump again. Sakura, not paying any attention to the man next to her, started looking for her purse. She was to the point of feeling light headed now, her breathing still erratic and troubled. The contents were spilled everywhere, and she couldn't seem to focus on what she was touching. Sakura felt almost blind, feeling around for her inhaler. She had put in in her purse on a whim, not really worried about an asthma attack at this age. It had been so long since her last one. She started to panic, tears leaking slowly out of her eyes. Then, a pale hand grabbed hers gently, pushing what she had been looking for right into her hands. Sakura fumbled with the inhaler for a couple seconds, her movements feeling sluggish. After a few deep breaths with it, she felt as if her lungs were starting to open up. Her breathing was calming down, her chest loosing up. She felt a hand rest on the small of her back, spreading almost across her whole lower back. Sakura looked up, surprised. She had forgotten about the stranger on the floor with her.

Her emerald eyes looked up and met dark, charcoal colored ones. They were so black, but were glinting with something she couldn't put her finger on. She was stunned at the pure...beauty of this man. His pale skin made him seem almost statue like. His hair, so black it was almost blue, fell in a mess around his head, but looked neat at the same time. He was wearing a black dress shirt, and black slacks. They didn't look like they had a wrinkle in them at all. His face was blank, almost a little intimidating. Even though they were both on the ground, his presence made it seem as if he was hovering over her. He spoke again, making her listen with a commanding tone, "I won't ask again, are you okay?"

Sakura took a deep breath, "Ah, yes, yeah, I think, uh...I'm good." He stared at her, impassively, and she shuddered a bit. She lowered her eyes. Just his gaze was heavy, making her feel...

Sakura put her hands on the concrete beneath her, pushing herself up slowly. The hand on her back moved to hover over her slightly and then fell back to the strangers side. She tried to brush herself off the best she could, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Do I need to call an ambulance?" the man asked, looking at her with blank eyes.

Sakura laughed nervously, "Oh, no, don't worry. I'm perfectly fine, no need to call-" she gasped, "Oh shoot!"

The man stiffened slightly at her unexpected outburst. She glanced at her watch, and panicked, the bus wound have left by now, and there was no time for her to wait for the next one. Sakura, not looking at him, started to pick up the fallen items on the ground, "I'm going to be late to work! What a great way to start Sakura! You totally jinxed yourself this morning, and now karma's got to you, I can't be-"

"Let me take you to the hospital," the man stated quietly, observing the shaky pink haired woman with a hard look. Her legs were still shaking, so were her hands.

She shook her head, ignoring him, and stuffed everything into her purse, "I'm gonna have to get a taxi now, it's going to cost me a bit, but I still might not get there in time!"

Sakura started to walk off, determined to get a taxi, when two strong heads grabbed her upper arms. She froze, her mummered words fading into silence. The man was glaring at her. She winced at his grip, and pulled back a little, trying to get him to let go. "You are not going anywhere. I'm taking you to the hospital." The man told her, his voice hitting her like ice.

Sakura shook her head, exasperated, her hair flying around her face, "No, that's not necessary. I'm fine. I just need to get to work! I'm late and Naru-" She pulled away from him, "Oh no! I forgot about him! He's probably waiting for me at the cafe! Look, sir, I have to go!"

She turned swiftly, maybe a little too fast. Sakura swayed slightly on her feet. The man reached out, his hands about to grab her again. But, there was no need. She had steadied herself, and started to walk briskly to the curb. Sakura, so lost in her thoughts, didn't notice the man staring at her as she left.

He noticed a ID still laying on the ground. Bending down slowly, he picked it up. It was a workers ID for Sharingan Inc. He smirked, putting it into the front pocket of his slacks. The stranger turned, walking gracefully to his car.

AN: How was it? Next up, a different POV, but who? Maybe, the stranger? R/R