Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
"Go!"
Sakura followed the people in front of her as the teacher shouted the command, hesitantly placing one bare foot out onto the cold, wet grass in front of her. It was so dark she could barely see the people she was following, and the rain coming down at her didn't help her any at all. She clutched her duffel bag and sleeping bag tightly, praying that they wouldn't fall from her shoulders as she ran. It was one thirty in the morning, and she was exhausted.
She broke out in a slow run, doing her best to follow the shape of Ino in front of her. Suddenly, she heard a sharp "Shhh! Stop!" from somewhere in front of her. She slowed her pace and finally stopped when her sleeping bag brushed against Ino's. They were standing next to the dumpster, although Sakura only saw it as a good hiding spot, and its pungent scent escaped her nose.
She looked quietly at her group, waiting for the next command from their leader. Her feet were already numb, and she could no longer feel them beneath her. As they started moving again, she recognized the texture of the pavement under her feet, realizing that they hadn't lost all feeling, just most of it. She crept slowly along the side of the building nearest to her, watching hesitantly before her, ready to run in the opposite direction, back to the cafeteria, if danger presented itself. Her heart was pounding, and she followed Ino's back, cramming herself between a school bus and the wall she had been following. Ino stopped in front of her, and Sakura stopped as well. She could see TenTen in front of Ino, peeking around the side of the bus, looking for anyone that could pose a threat to this mission.
"It's clear." TenTen whispered, although her whisper sounded too loud to Sakura's ears. They rounded the front of the bus, and quickly ducked behind a car. Sakura watched TenTen closely, and followed her friend as she approached the nearby maintenance building.
"Ino?" Sakura asked questioningly to the figure in front of her. "Do you guys see anyone?"
"Ya, just ahead." Ino said in a harsh whisper.
"Wait just a minute." TenTen commanded. Sakura craned her head to look around TenTen, and saw two figures scurrying around a corner, but she recognized the shape of a sleeping bag in one of their arms, and quickly realized that they were allies, not foes. She whispered her realization to her friends, and they nodded, TenTen standing up straight, although her backpack was still pressed against the wall. Sakura turned her head a little to see a terrified Hinata standing behind her, and she smiled reassuringly at her.
"It's ok," She whispered as loudly as she dared. "We're going to make it." Hinata nodded timidly at her friend, acknowledging her words.
Sakura turned her head back around, and quickly realized that Ino and TenTen were already moving, on their way down the small incline leading towards their next section of cover behind a set of concrete stairs. She quickly followed, but as she reached the top of the incline, she felt her ankle submerge in icy water, and gasped, the cold actually registering with her skin. She moved more quickly, watching her footing on the muddy slope, knowing that as small as it was, there was still a major possibility of slipping. She reached the bottom of the incline, and stepped onto the pavement, wary as she stepped into the dim light provided by a street lamp on the nearby building. She quickly joined TenTen and Ino crouching behind the stairs, and soon felt Hinata's arm brush against her own.
"To the trees!" Someone said in a normal voice, but it sounded like a siren in the silent night, pointing Sakura and her friends out to the enemy. Sakura watched as someone ducked behind the electrical box, then peeked over the edge.
"What is he doing?" Sakura asked as loudly as she dared. She had identified Sasuke as the person that had dared to run out into the open and speak that loudly. Of course the over-confident boy had been the one. She stifled a giggle as she imagined Sasuke's face when he realized that not everyone had followed his command. After all, a group was supposed to follow its leader, and Sasuke's master plan had been to stick together.
"There's someone over there," Ino whispered to her, bringing her back from her imagination. Sakura peered around to see someone walk into the shadows with no sleeping or duffel bag. The enemy.
"Turn around," TenTen ordered, and Sakura turned to face Hinata, following her friend's command. She nudged Hinata, who tentatively stepped out from her cover, running swiftly to the electrical box that Sasuke was still crouched behind. He stood up as they approached, and counted them as he motioned them through the trees, like a mother hen counting her baby chicks. Sakura stood silently as soon as she entered the cover of the trees. She recognized Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru as her eyes adjusted to the dark once again. She watched as Ino and TenTen made their way into the protection of the leafy screen, and watched TenTen make a bee-line for Neji. She looked behind her, and realized that they were on the hill that led down to the baseball diamond, a much steeper incline than the one they had encountered earlier.
"We're missing seven people," Sasuke told them, capturing Sakura's attention as he entered the trees a few minutes later.
"I saw Karin head to the front of the building," Shikamaru allowed lazily from where he stood.
"I bet the others followed her," Neji said.
"Hn. I'm going to look around the trees and watch for a few minutes. I'll alert you if I judge it's safe to go. Wait for my command," Sasuke instructed. He looked at each one of their faces briefly before slowly creeping towards the trees, taking what seemed like an eternity to Sakura, and looking for any shape that may present itself in the darkness before him. She watched as he slowly shook his head, and stepped back a few a steps before turning and walking towards them.
"It's no good. There are three or four people up there. I'm going down the hill to see if they're looking there. Don't move until I motion for you to follow," With that, Sasuke crouched down so that he was almost crawling, his sleeping bag dragging the ground, creeping down the hill at a painfully slow pace. Sakura's heart sped up as she watched him, fearful that Sasuke would get caught at any second.
"Who's that down there?!" Naruto yelled, or at least said loud enough to raise the hair on the back of Sakura's neck.
"That's Sasuke." Neji replied. "Now be quiet before you get us caught." Naruto obviously hadn't been paying attention to Sasuke before he left, and Sakura made a mental note later to slap him for not paying attention at such a critical time.
Sakura soon saw Sasuke's hand flick up, although he remained crouched down low near the ground. Neji was the first to follow him, and she and Naruto started their descent at the same time. Sakura felt more icy cold water hit her ankles, and worried that she may loose her footing on the steep hill. She slowed a bit, and watched as Naruto slid a few feet in front of her. Luckily he avoided falling down and quickly regained his balance. Sakura was relieved when she had only a few more steps of the incline left, but she soon registered the feeling of the muddy baseball field against her ankles. She cringed as she realized how deep the mud was in certain places, and picked her way through it. Ino was right behind her.
"Are you guys ok?" Sasuke asked, looking over Sakura and Ino as they walked by.
"Ya," Sakura said, a little breathlessly. She knew that she must be a sight right now. She walked slowly across the rest of the field, taking her time, because she knew that soon enough, the need to run would come soon enough.
"Run!" Sakura's body stiffened momentarily but it only took a few seconds for her legs to spring into action at the sound of Naruto's voice. She looked up the hill, and saw the enemy descending upon them. She took in her breath sharply, and she picked up her pace as much as she dared while her feet were still on the muddy surface beneath her. Soon, the surface she was running on stopped sucking at her feet, and then she again recognized the hard pavement beneath them. She swore silently as she saw them, and saw a light come on, aiming right over her shoulder, barely missing her. She quickly stepped further out of its path, and sped up a little bit as she got to the steeper part of the hill. She could feel her muscles burning in her legs as she pushed herself to go faster and further. She reached the top of the hill, and slowed to a brisk walk, turning the corner of the building on her right, and almost running in to one of the seniors. She glared at him, almost daring him to tag her after what she had just been through.
All he did was mutter a quick "whoa" and step out of her way as she stepped onto the stairs. She quickly ascended them and stepped into the light of the building.
"Congratulations, you made it." One of her teachers said kindly to her. "The girls are in room 202, you have fifteen minutes to get ready before prayers."
Sakura nodded briskly, and headed towards the back of the building and to the basement. She Headed down the stairs briskly, and winced slightly as her feet started to burn, the result of the warmth of the building after her adventure out in the cold rain. She reached the classroom, and dumped her things on the ground not far from the door. She noticed that many people had done the same, so she dragged them a little farther away before bending over to pull out her pajamas and toothbrush. She turned and headed to the bathroom, passing Ino and TenTen on the stairs.
"We made it." They said, TenTen grinning at her at the accomplishment. Sakura smiled in reply, too tired to say anything to her friends. She pushed open the bathroom door, almost hitting one of her classmates as she did so. She walked to the back section of the bathroom, only to find that all of the stalls were taken. She decided she just didn't care anymore and quickly slipped into her pajamas anyways. When she walked back around to the sinks, she glanced in the mirror at herself.
It was no wonder that that senior had reacted that way to seeing her. The green ribbon that had been tied in her hair as a headband, the ribbon all of her fellow tribe members were supposed to be wearing as well, was falling out, and her hair was sticking out every which way. Her make-up was running, and she just plain looked like crap.
"Sakura!" Sakura turned around to find Hinata standing there. "I'm so glad that you made it. I was afraid that maybe…"
"Don't worry, we all made it just fine." Sakura smiled at her friend who had trailed off at the horrible thoughts of being captured. Hinata nodded as she headed to the stalls in the back. Sakura knew her shy friend would wait until one finally opened up before changing. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth before heading down to put her things away. She looked around the classroom for her friends, but didn't spot them, so she decided to head up to the chapel. She paused in the entranceway when she found no teachers in there and swiftly checked her cell phone to find that it was two fifteen.
She sat in one of the back pews, and began to think about the events that had previously occurred that night.
*flashback*
Sakura looked towards her teacher who was in the corner of the auditorium. The movie Beyond the Gates had just ended, and it had been really upsetting. There were still tears in her eyes from the scene fifteen minutes ago. Why they had been made the watch this movie at eleven something at night, during a food fast no less, was a mystery to her. It was now one fifteen, and she was ready to go to bed.
"I'd like everyone to head over to the cafeteria, please. You are all going to go on an African adventure."
Sakura looked over at her friends and they shrugged, having not an inkling about what was going on. They got up slowly and stretched before following the stream of students out the door and into the dark night. The headed towards the cafeteria, and huddled near the door as they waited for someone to produce a Teacher id card, the only kind of card that could get you into a building on the weekends. Once the doors were opened, everyone pushed their way in, and sat down on the floor in their 'tribes.'
Sakura watched as Sasuke, Neji, Naruto and Shikamaru headed over to join them. There were about fifteen kids in each tribe, and Sasuke had been assigned her tribe's leader. She adjusted the green ribbon that was tied around her head, tightening the bow that sat on top. TenTen had hers tied around her head like a tribal person with the green fabric covering her forehead, Hinata wore hers around her neck, and Ino wore hers tied securely around her waist. Most of the boys had theirs tied around their heads like TenTen's.
"Welcome to the start of your African journey." Sakura looked up as her teacher entered the cafeteria. "At this time, I would like the Pygmie tribe to retrieve their belongings."
Sakura stood up with the rest of her group as they walked over to the area where the snack machines were blocked off. She quickly grabbed her things, and headed back towards her spot. She glanced back to see Naruto staring longingly at the forbidden food. She giggled at this before sitting back on the floor. She yawned and blinked as she looked back towards her teacher. He was watching the rest of her tribe as they settled back onto the floor. She turned to Ino and TenTen, and listened to the chat quietly about the boys in their 'tribe.' She ignored the teacher as he called the rest of the tribes to retrieve their things.
"Listen!" Sakura almost jumped at the loudness of her teacher's voice. She turned to look at him, her sleep deprived brain working to decipher his words.
"Now that I have all of your attention, I will explain to the details of your journey. You will have to make it from here, the cafeteria, to Rupert, the farthest building from here. Sounds easy, right? The catch is, there will be people looking for you, trying to capture you. If they shine a flashlight on you, you have been caught, and you must return to the cafeteria. Every time you are caught, you must wait half an hour before departing again. Two teams will depart at a time. One will go out the front doors, the other out the back. If you go through the back, you must go behind all four buildings, and may not cut between them. You must end up on the front stairs of Rupert, and must enter through those doors and those doors only. Now, I will take the first two groups to start their journey, the other two will sit here patiently until I return." With that, he motioned to two of the groups, Sakura's not one of them.
"How are we going to do this?" Sakura asked.
"We have to stick together." Sasuke said, standing up in front of his tribe. "If we break up, we're all going to get caught. We have to stay in the group for the best chance of making it."
"But won't that make us stand out more?" Naruto asked.
"Not if we're quiet. Which will be necessary." Neji said in reply to Naruto's question.
Naruto nodded, thinking about it. Sakura only hoped he could be quiet enough for them to get through this the first time. She needed sleep, and she needed it as soon as possible. When she had signed up for a food fast, she had realized that there would be no food, but she hadn't realized there would be no sleep. And for a girl who went to bed at nine thirty sharp every night, one thirty in the morning was way later than she should have been up.
"Does everyone understand?" Sasuke asked them. Sakura nodded, but noticed that Karin and a few others were not paying attention. She overheard a few words of their conversations, and heard "Sasuke…way hot…" and she stopped listening. She didn't feel like hearing other girls obsessing over her crush. She actually knew Sasuke, whereas they just watched him from afar.
"Are you ready?" Sakura looked up to find the teacher standing over them. She looked around and noticed that the other group had already left. "You will be exiting through the back. Follow me through the teacher's room."
Sakura stood up and grabbed her bags, quickly stuffing her pillow inside her sleeping bag and zipping it up. She immediately regretted packing so much stuff. Her bag was heavy, and it was big compared to the guys' small backpacks. She realized that she was the first person in line, and quickly stopped by a soda machine.
"I'm not going first." She insisted.
"I'll go." Sasuke said, pushing his way in front of everyone else that had stopped. Ino and TenTen shuffled in front of Sakura and she quickly followed them, not wanting to be separated. She reached the door and took a deep breath before sticking one foot out into the cold wet night, taking the first step of her journey.
A/N: Well, this is just a one shot I wrote up while trying to break my writer's block. What happened in the story is pretty much what happened to me at my school's foodfast. It was insane, but some of us laugh at it now. Hopefully someone enjoys this. Reviews are loved. =)