Moving In!

Sakura's mother is dead. Her father is in a coma. She's going to get evicted from her own house. She almost died and wrecked her car. PLUS; her so called best friends won't even let her move in?!

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Moving In!

Chapter 1:

Sakura sat at her mother's side. "Oka-san… It'll be okay…" She said and tightened her grip on her mother's frail hand. Her mother, Haruno Mikami, was dying. She suffered from cancer, and although the growing tumour in her head had just been removed, it was too late to save her. Sakura let a tear fall down her cheeks.

"If only Oto-san were here… Then he could help take care of you too." Mikami said and gave a weak smile. Sakura closed her eyes tightly. She didn't like to talk about her father, he had been in a coma for 3 years and doctors said that he wasn't going to get out of it very soon. He used to be a policeman. He was hit by a speeding truck when he had stopped someone on the side of the road. After he was hit, he had been rolled over by a swerving minivan.

"No… You're the one who needs to be cared for." She said and slowly opened her eyes, "I-I'll be fine…" She avoided her mother's gaze and looked down to the hand she held.

"I don't want you to be sad, Sakura…" Her mother said quietly and closed her eyes.

"Why would I be sad? You're not going to die here, Oka-san!" She said loudly.

"I-It's okay…" She said weakly and smiled. "It's time f-for you to be a big girl… I've taught you everything I know…" She said and coughed. "I'm sure you will be…"

"Be what…? Oka-san, please, don't leave me!" Sakura said and felt more tears stream down her cheek. Mikami tried to smile, but she could feel her life seeping away.

"I'm sure you will be…" She paused, "I wonderful mother someday…" She then closed her eyes and slowly stopped breathing. Sakura's heart began to beat faster as she panicked.

"Oka-san!! OKA-SAN!!" Sakura cried as she felt her mother's hand grow cold. "Wait!! You can't go yet!! Oka-san!!" She screamed and hugged her mother's limp body and cried all over it; hoping that her tears would bring her back.

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Monday

Gaara sat beside Sakura in their usual advanced biology class. He and Sakura were 17 and went everywhere together. They weren't exactly girlfriend/boyfriend but they couldn't say they were "just friends" either. The two were also best friends with Sai and Hinata, who were in different classes.

They were in their last year of high school now and were studying for their future careers. Sakura wanted to be a veterinary, and Gaara wanted to be a scientist. Hinata wanted to be a teacher, and Sai wasn't sure at all. "You okay?" Gaara asked as the teacher spoke.

"Y-Yeah… I think… I'm…" Sakura set her head down onto her desk and closed her eyes. Gaara decided to let her sleep; she had gone through a rough weekend. The teacher noticed her dozing off as well, but had heard the news, and let her be. That's why everyone loved Kakashi-sensei. He understood them the most; and he looked as though he was as old as they were. He was always in style, though he was always late.

When the class was over, Gaara sat beside Sakura, waiting for her to wake up. The sound of a hundred footsteps seemed to do it, and her eyes slowly opened. "Are you ready to go?" He asked and closed his laptop. She yawned and nodded her head as she closed her laptop as well and stood up. She had been in the same mood all day, grumpy, sleepy and sad.

They went out for lunch at Sakura's favourite place. They sold hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, bubble tea, pastries, pizza and sandwiches. Hinata and Sai had been waiting for them there. "Hi guys." She yawned and took a seat opposite of them.

"Hi Sakura." Hinata said and smiled sweetly. Sai waved his hand.

"Hi Sakura." He said. Usually he would call her Ugly, but that wasn't appropriate in the current situation.

"Hey, it's still 'sama' for you." She said and smirked for the first time in days. Sai frowned.

"Why?" He asked.

"You touched me last week in the car!!" She told him and frowned as well. Gaara and Hinata sighed.

"That wasn't me!" He lied.

"Well I don't think a car seat could have groped my ass, idiot!" Sakura said. She was in a happier mood; this is how she usually had conversations with Sai.

"What would you like to order?" A black haired boy asked in a bored tone. Sakura looked up to him slowly and almost choked on her soda. She coughed up in a napkin and felt everyone's eyes on her.

"Oh... er… Gomen!" She said and put a small hand up. Sakura obviously felt uncomfortable with the silence, so Hinata decided to end it.

"We'll all have one slice of pizza, please. One ham and bacon, the rest are pepperoni." She said and smiled. The boy nodded his head and wrote down in his tiny notebook before leaving.

"Looks like they're hiring." Sai said and mentioned towards the paper on the table. Sakura wasn't listening, 'He was so hot... she thought dreamily and stared at the spot he once stood.

"Sakura… Sakura!" Hinata cooed. She poked Sakura's forehead, and that seemed to bring her back.

"Huh? What?" Sakura stuttered and looked at all of them. They were smirking intensely. "W-What is it?" She asked and twirled her fingers like Hinata used to do.

"Looks like someone set her eyes on Uchiha." Gaara said and smirked as well.

"…Uchiha?" She asked curiously.

"Sasuke Uchiha: First in all his classes, named the most handsome boy in all the yearbooks, people think he might be gay because he rejects every girl that comes up to him, and, all those girls just happen to be fan girls, who constantly chase him." Sai recited. They didn't think it weird, Sai knew everyone, even people he had never met.

"Sounds like you're not the only one who gets chased around, Teddy!" Sakura said and smiled at Gaara, who she called 'Teddy' (short for 'Teddy Bear'). She referred him to a bear because on the outside he seemed cold and distant, but on the inside he was much softer and… cuddly?

"This place is going to get crowded soon; do you guys want to leave after we get our food?" Hinata asked and looked around.

"Huh? Why?" Sakura asked.

"Well, a crowd of girls is probably going to form once they find out the Uchiha boy is here." Sai said. "Then he'll quit and get another job, some place that doesn't involve social interaction with many people at once. Then he'll rethink about his career choices and will cross out anything he thinks would attract more girls to him and…"

Yes, he knows that much.

"We get it, Sai." Hinata said and sighed. He smiled and seemed satisfied with himself.

"Here you are." Sasuke said and set down a plate with four big slices of pizza on it.

"Arigatou!! That was fast." Sakura cheered and clapped her hands together as she stared hungrily at the pizza. He ignored her and put the check down on the table.

"My pleasure." He said bitterly through clenched teeth. Gaara snorted and received a cold glare before the boy walked off.

"He doesn't seem too friendly." Hinata said and watched him leave. Sai and Gaara took their slices. Sakura let out a deep sigh.

"Oh, great." Sakura said sarcastically and took her slice as well. She had the one him ham and bacon.

"Hm?" Sai mumbled with a full mouth. Sakura frowned at him but continued.

"I'm applying for a job here." She said happily.

"NANI?!" The three yelled loudly and every turned to them curiously. "Er… Gomenasai, gomenasai!" They said quickly and got most of the attention diverted from them.

"You don't have to apply for a job just to get close to the guy; this isn't like you, Sakura." Gaara said and sent glares at whoever had kept staring.

"That's because that not what I'm doing." She said as she smiled and rolled her eyes, "I need the money! I can't take care of the house all by my self, remember? I'm going to get kicked out. Now, I have no where to go." Hinata looked down to her feet, Sai looked up to the ceiling and Gaara scratched the back of his head while looking at his watch.

"One of you guys is going to let me move in with you… right?!" Sakura asked and felt the tip of her mouth twitch. "Discrimination!!" Sakura yelled and as she stood up, she pointed at them. Everyone turned to them again nervously. "I'll find my own place, then! Ha, some friends you are." She said as she crossed her arms.

"Excuse me." She heard behind and turned on her heel angrily. Sasuke was standing in front of her, frowning at her. "You're causing a disturbance." He said and straightened out his apron. She huffed in his face daringly.

Aah, he's even better up close…

"Please excuse my behaviour." She said in a fake sweet voice and sat back down, still crossing her arms. He glared at her before leaving again. Everyone watched carefully as he disappeared into the kitchen. Once everything settle back down the

"Sakura!" Hinata said, "We might get kicked out of here!"

"You mean like I'll get kicked out of my own house?! It's your fault! I've been through so much now and you guys won't even let me stay at your house for a few weeks." She said and looked away to keep them from seeing her teary eyes.

"It's not that easy. We'd have to make more money to buy more food, and you don't have any money to help pay for your own things. I'd be like having a child in the house." Sai said and took a napkin to clean his mouth.

"But we'll help you find a good place, promise." Hinata said and smiled. Sakura gave a weak smile and sighed.

"I'll be right back; I have to hand in my job application." Sakura said and stood up.

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Tuesday

Sakura sat in the quiet office. She was starting her job interview with a very handsome man!! "So, do you have experience with jobs like these?" The man asked. She decided that she would try and think positively. She had been sad and moody since her mother had passed, and she wanted to change. She looked down to his desk and saw a plate saying: "Uchiha Itachi" She beamed.

"Yes, I do." She said happily.

"Great, can I see that please?" He asked and she handed him her sheet of paper. He read it in a few seconds and looked up from the paper and leaned back in his chair. "I can see you've had multiple jobs in fast food restaurants. You're still young, why did you keep changing them? Were you fired?" He asked and looked at her bright pink hair curiously as she spoke.

"Umm… no. I had to change jobs to adjust to my mother's personal schedule; it always changed because of her health." Sakura said quietly and held her knees tightly.

"Will you require different hours because of it, now?" He asked and put the paper down on his desk.

"I-Iie… She passed away almost two weeks ago…" She said and gave a weak smile. He ignored this and motioned for her to take back the paper, which she did.

"Alright, show me what you can do." He said and stood up.

"Eh?" She asked.

"Let's see you use the pizza oven." He said and threw an apron towards her. She caught it and hopped off her seat, ready to work. They walked into the kitchen; it was a bit crowded because the restaurant was currently open. "In the kitchen, we have Ino-chan, Lee-kun and Shikamaru-kun."

"Ino-chan, please demonstrate." Itachi told this 'Ino' girl, who quickly nodded her head and grabbed some dough.

"I'm the head chef so watch carefully." She said and smiled at Sakura. She quickly got the dough ready and spun the dough in the air. She caught it gracefully and set it on the wooden surface. She put special sauce, cheese and other toppings and popped it into the oven.

"W-Wow, that was fast." Sakura said in awe. Ino beamed and began another pizza.

"On to the cash register." Itachi said and impatiently led her to the front of the restaurant. The cash register was for the people who were on the go, but most people sat down and waited for the waiters to come to them. "This is Tenten-chan, Karin-chan, Deidara-kun and Naruto-kun. They work on the cash registers." He said and then pointed towards the people walking around with giant plates in their hands.

Sakura nodded her head. "The waiters; Neji-kun, Sasuke and Sasori-kun." He said, "That's basically all of our staff. You will be working in the kitchen. But we might need you as a waiter as well on busy days. So you'll have that uniform too."

"You mean, I got the job?" Sakura asked excitedly.

"First, let's see you in action." He said in the same tone he had used the whole day. She smiled and nodded her head. She put on her white apron and the two went back into the kitchen.

"I need one small regular with extra cheese and our special spicy sauce, mild." A boy with pearly eyes and long brown hair in a low ponytail told her. She looked at his name tag:

Hello, My Name Is:

Hyuuga Neji

She already knew him though, he was Hinata's cousin. She couldn't stop smiling as she replayed what he said in her mind and began to make the pizza. 'This is great! I hope you're proud of me, Oka-san!' She thought as she finished the pizza and put it inside the oven.

"That was excellent, Haruno-san." He said and smirked. She could feel her legs get wobbly at the sight. "You start tomorrow." He said and left her there in her apron, he had disappeared in his office. Her legs regained their usual sturdy self and she looked around her.

"Congratulations! Haruno Sakura, right?" Ino asked and held out her hand.

"Y-Yes…" Sakura mumbled and shook it.

"A-Are they real?!" Ino asked loudly. Sakura blushed and look down at her body and back up to Ino.

"Are what real?" She asked with a bright red faces, now all eyes were on her.

"Those strands of… pink hair." Ino said and gazed at her head, gawking. Sakura let out a small laugh.

"Well yes, they're natural." Sakura said and gave a small smile.

"Oh my gosh!! Tenten-chan!!" Ino called loudly and waved her hands in the air. Tenten came over to them quickly.

"What is it? Is there a fire, or something??" Tenten asked, ready for action.

"No!" Ino said; Tenten seemed disappointed. "Look at her hair! It's natural!" Ino said and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"R-Really?" She asked and got on her toes to see Sakura's roots. "Wow… It's really natural…" She said in awe. "I have to get back to work." Tenten said and made a double take before she was completely out of sight.

"Ino-chan, please leave Haruno-san alone." Itachi said once he came back from his office. Ino giggled before running back to the oven. "You didn't think I'd leave you here, alone, would you? I got your waiter's uniform." He said plainly and shoved it to her. She slowly took it from him and looked at it; it was just like all the other girls' uniforms.

(For the picture go here:

http://s87. it's that simple. Nothing big and puffy, lol)

She nodded her head and looked up to him. "You start next week." He said and left into his office again. Sakura took a deep breath and left the place. As soon as she was well away from the place she shoved the clothes into her big purse and hopped into her tiny Smartcar. She revved the engine and slowly got into traffic.

She was headed to the mall to buy new leggings for her uniform, since she found it too short, and a tank top to wear under it. She parked into an empty spot and quickly ran into the mall, swiftly avoiding the light rain beginning to tap down on her. As soon as she entered she looked around, there weren't many people inside and she'd get what she wanted without a fight.

She walked to a specific section and took what she needed. She then went to the sales clerk and paid for her expenses with her credit card. "Sakura." She heard and almost jumped. She turned around and saw Karin, holding two outfits in plastic bags- that looked too small for her- in her hands.

"Yes…?" She asked and faced her properly. Karin eyed her carefully before answering.

"I see… you've been shopping." She said plainly. Sakura lifted her eye-brows.

"And…?" She asked. Karin took in a deep breath. She spoke so fast that Sakura could hardly catch the words.

"Those clothes kind of match with the uniform for the Konoha Café." She hinted. Sakura knew were she was going, but didn't give out her understanding.

"It also matches with lots of other clothes." Sakura said and put on a wide smile.

"I know you applied for a job at the Konoha Café." Karin said and narrowed her eyes.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I saw you come out of there with the uniform and followed you here."

"Ever heard of stalking?" Sakura said and glared at her.

"Shut up, Haruno." Sakura began to walk away, but Karin followed her persistently.

"Why did you apply for a job there?!" She asked.

"What does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Tell me!" She said angrily, ignoring what Sakura had said.

"I got it for the money, what else?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura stopped in her tracks and stared at Karin suspiciously.

"You think… that I… for…"

"Yes."

"I got the job… Sasuke…"

"Yes!"

"…" Sakura turned her blank look into an angry one.

"I knew it. That's all you wanted the job for!" Karin said in a triumphant voice. "You're just like all the other hopeless girls who tried to get close to him!" Sakura stomped a foot on the ground and pointed at Karin.

"Excuse me, but aren't you one of those hopeless girls?!" Sakura asked. Karin shut up immediately, but wasn't quiet for very long.

"I actually had the qualities they were looking for!!" She said angrily. Sakura took in a deep breath.

"What qualities?" Sakura said a little too loudly. Karin shot her a death glare and Sakura waved her hands in front of her face. "W-Wait! I meant, what qualities are they looking for? I didn't mean that you have absolutely no positive qualities… a-aand that you dress like a whore!!" Sakura said and quickly covered her mouth as Karin got near her.

"Listen up, if you even try to TALK to Sasuke, I will make sure you're never able to move that mouth of yours." Karin said quietly through gritted teeth, so only she could hear. Sakura clenched her fist and waited until Karin left.

'Great. This 'Konoha Café' doesn't seem to be bringing me any luck… I'll just have to go look for an apartment with Gaara now.' She though miserably and quickly walked outside, got in her car and began to drive down the road again. She was humming one of her favorite tunes as she watched her wind-shield wiper with interest. She wasn't watching the road and her supposedly 'smart' car led her onto the wrong side of the road.

The loud honking of a truck snapped her out of her reverie. She almost screamed when she saw that the truck and her car were heading directly towards each other. She swerved at the last second and only got her side mirror busted off. Her car rode on one wheel for a few seconds and finally slowed down and fell to the side.

As Sakura battled with her airbag she could hear tires screeching to a stop all around her. The airbag slowly deflated back into her car. "SHIT!!" She yelled and punched the steering wheel, making a long honking sound stretch in the air around her. She angrily undid her seatbelt. She managed to open the door and climb out of her car. She was bloody and tired but she managed to sit by her car and wait for the ambulance to come get her.

"We need to get you to a hospital. You have pieces of glass cutting deep into your skin." A woman told her. It was then that Sakura realized the large shards of glass in her skin, she winced as they set her onto the stretcher. As they gave her pain killers, Sakura felt a tear fall down her cheek. It wasn't because she was in pain; her mother wanted her to grow up like a normal girl.

She was failing her mother's wish, was it a dream maybe…?

Sakura snapped out of her reverie, she seemed to do that a lot. She was currently lying down on a stretcher in a fast-moving ambulance truck. The truck halted to a stop and she was rushed out of the room and into the hospital. She put a hand on her stomach and felt a sudden surge off pain go through her body. She screamed in pain and caught everyone's attention.

"You're got one hell of a wound there, try not to touch it." Someone said and stuck a needle in her arm. Sakura winced as she looked into the mirrors the doctors held over her. She could now see her stomach. She had a nine inch wide piece of glass stuck into her side. She could no longer feel much pain- thanks to the pain killers- And the sedative was starting to set in as well. She looked up at the doctors drowsily.

"You'll be fine, don't worry." She heard before closing her eyes.

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BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…

Sakura was slowly regaining consciousness. She open her eyes half-way, there were blurry figures all around her. They hadn't noticed that she was awake again; they seemed to be having a quiet discussion. She couldn't tell who they were. Maybe they were doctors…? She closed her eyes again and tried to re-cap what had happened.

Clothes… A car… Screeching tires… Something red… blood…? Yes… white clothed… doctors… the mirrors… more… blood…

Sakura's eyes shot open. This time she could see them more clearly. Gaara, Hinata, Sai and a few doctors as well. A doctor turned his head to her and was slightly surprised. He turned to the others, mentioning them to look at her. They did so, and approached her.

"Sakura?" Hinata said quietly.

"What?" Sakura asked, as if nothing were wrong.

"You're feeling okay?" Sai asked, his face showing only the slightest concern. She let a small smirk slide on her lips.

"You wouldn't think I'd leave you like my folks did to me, did you?" She asked, chuckling lightly. They frowned at her. "I know… I should be more serious about this, right?"

"Sakura…" Gaara started.

"I'm invincible, remember?" She said and sighed. "I can't die. I have things I have to do before I die. So don't think I'll let my life slip away so easily." She said as her smirk shrunk to a small smile. They all gave stiff nods and the doctors watched her carefully.

"You'll need a lot of rest, alright?" The doctor, who she had met before, said.

"For how long…? I have a job now!" Sakura said and tried to sit up, but her friends held her down. The doctor sighed.

"We'll see how long it takes you to heal… probably around a week." He said. Sakura's eyes went wide. One week…?

"Okay…" She said and took in a deep breath. "I can do this… this is no big deal…" She said as her eyes shot from Gaara, to the doctor, to Hinata, to Sai.

"It'll be okay." Gaara told her. She stiffly nodded her head. As soon as they left the room to leave her to rest, she stared at the ceiling and thought. My mom is dead. My dad is in a freaking coma. I'm going to get evicted of my own house. My car is a wreck. I have no place to live… Think positive Sakura. Think positive. You have insurance… right?

"SHIT!!!!"