Part Two

Her breathing came in heavy gasps as her sneakers smacked across the pavement, crunching through the wet gravel as she moved quickly down the deserted street. Behind her, shouts of pursuit echoed into the late September night.

"Shit," she whispered, clenching her teeth together as her heart pounded erratically against her chest.

The girl's throat felt tight, constricting further with each labored breath she dragged in, and despite her growing panic, she wished desperately in that moment that she had picked up at least some kind of sport in high school – she was way too out of shape for her own good.

Literally.

The men were close on her heels now, judging by the sounds of their shouting.

Mei wasn't quite sure why they were so hellbent on capturing her, but she had little time to think about it. She had to get out of there, and fast – her life depended on it.

The young girl rounded a corner, ducking into an alleyway, but quickly skidded to a halt. She cursed under her breath as she was met with a dead end.

This wasn't looking good for her, not in the slightest.

Without a second thought, she turned once more into the street.

The sound of a high-pitched scream sliced through the air, followed by the screeching of tires on asphalt and the loud blaring of someone slamming on their horn. She briefly saw the flash of headlights before she closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact. But nothing ever came. She peeked an eye open and sighed in relief.

The car had stopped just inches from hitting her.

Mei's legs felt like they were about to collapse beneath her, but she forced herself to remain standing, preparing herself to take off running once more.

It wasn't until she looked through the windshield that she realized she recognized the person driving the car.

"It's you," she said in disbelief, her green eyes widening. What are the chances of running into him again? The annoying man on the train, whose name she hadn't even bothered to remember. Whether it was karma or luck, she was about to find out.

Somewhere down the street a man shouted, and her eyes flickered in that direction. She licked her lips nervously as the feeling slowly returned to her paralyzed limbs.

And for the second time that night, she acted without thinking.

With one last glance down the street, Mei quickly ran to the other side of the car and opened up the door, hopping into the passenger seat. She slammed the door shut and turned towards what's-his-name.

"Step on it!" She ordered, glancing fearfully towards the street. When the guy opened his mouth to protest, she gave him her fiercest glare. "NOW!"

He clamped his mouth shut and put the car into drive, slamming on the gas just as a group of dangerous-looking men burst out of the alley behind them.

They drove in silence for what felt like hours. City lights glimmered behind them as they raced out of the area, the tall buildings looming in the distance like frightening shadows chasing after them. As the city disappeared and the paved road turned into dirt, Mei finally spoke up.

"You can stop over here," she said, pointing to a pull-off area on the side of the road. Sasuke did as she instructed and killed the engine, leaning back in his seat with a sigh. His heart was still hammering in his chest, his body trembling from adrenaline, and he had so many questions whirling around in his head at that moment that he didn't know where he should begin.

But the girl in his passenger seat didn't even glance at him as she began to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"Well, thanks I guess," Mei said, reaching for the door handle.

Sasuke's hand shot out to grasp her wrist, and he gave her a look of utter disbelief.

"Thanks?" He asked incredulously, his voice edging on hysterical. Those dark, obsidian eyes of his flashed with an undeniable anger. "Thanks?! You run out in front of my car, causing me to nearly kill you, by the way, before jumping in completely unwelcomed and yell at me to step on it, as a gang of crazy looking men chase after us, and all I get is 'thanks'?!" The Uchiha breathed heavily as he finished his rant, running his fingers hastily through his dark hair.

Mei merely quirked an amused eyebrow at him.

"You know, you look a lot less cool when you freak out like that," she said, a small smirk appearing on her face despite his fury with her. "Don't be so dramatic. Besides, the less you know the better, right?" She reached for the door again but Sasuke kept a firm grip on her wrist, causing her to roll her eyes at him. "Let me guess, you have more questions to ask me? Tell me, how's that book of yours coming along?"

"This isn't funny," Sasuke glared, clenching his teeth.

"I'm not laughing," she responded, just as seriously. And for the first time that night, he noticed just how frightened she actually looked. Her eyes were wild and frantic looking, and he could feel her hands tremble slightly beneath his grip.

Underneath all the sarcasm and her tough-as-nails demeanor, she was just as scared as he was.

Sasuke loosened his grip on her wrist and softened his gaze.

"I'm sorry," he murmured sincerely. The two stared at each other a moment longer until she finally sat back in her seat.

"Whatever," she said with a sigh. "I'll answer your questions, as thanks for getting me out of there, but don't waste my time. Got it?" Sasuke nodded eagerly, pleased with the prospects of finally getting the answers he had been seeking. Mei rolled her eyes at him once more.

"So, what do you want to know?" She asked, crossing her legs, one over the other.

"Why were those guys after you?" The girl frowned, pausing briefly before she replied.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, turning towards the window. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And I don't want to know. I guess I shouldn't have been walking around so late by myself, but I was hungry. I was just looking for something to eat when they came after me." Sasuke watched as she toyed with her hands. Her knee was bouncing impatiently.

"Why were you alone?"

"I'm always alone," she said a bit stiffly. "That's nothing new."

"Why?"

Mei sighed in irritation. "Why does it matter? I was alone, and those guys came after me. I ran, you found me, and we left. End of story. Can I go now?"

"Not yet," Sasuke said quickly. "I have one more question." Mei groaned, slumping further in her seat.

"What's the question," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Had the situation not been so serious, Sasuke might have laughed at her – she looked like such a child, pouting like that.

He shook himself from these thoughts, taking in a deep breath, before quietly asking, "Why did you run away?"

The question obviously took her by surprise. He watched as her body stiffened, her eyes widening, before she quickly recomposed herself. She narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha.

"What makes you think I ran away?" She fired back. Sasuke scoffed – she wasn't going to lie her way out of this one.

"My father works for the police station in Konoha," he told her. "Someone filed a missing person's report for you a month ago. I recognized you from the school picture that they sent. They stated that you were a runaway."

Mei snorted upon hearing this. "Those bastards."

"Excuse me?"

Her green eyes found his, and she smiled at him wryly.

"I ran away nearly a year ago," she said bitterly. "Seven months at the very least, and I'm only now getting reported as missing?"

Sasuke found his own eyes widening – she had been missing for that long?

"You said they sent a school picture?" Mei asked suddenly, and the Uchiha nodded, curious as to why this was important.

"Figures," she murmured, chewing on her lip in thought. "My parents would never have wasted the money to buy my school pictures, so it wouldn't have been them. I bet my high school reported me missing when I didn't come back for classes this year."

"Why wouldn't they have reported it sooner if you had been gone so long?"

"Beats me," she shrugged. "I left towards the end of January, right in the middle of the last school year." As she thought, a pained expression flashed across her eyes—so quick that Sasuke might have imagined it—before her face hardened. She grinned at him somberly. "I'm an easy person to forget, though. They probably didn't even notice I was gone. Besides, I didn't have the best track record to begin with in terms of attendance. I doubted they batted an eye when I stopped showing up." Sasuke's chest clenched at her words, and he frowned. He reached a hand out and placed it on top of hers.

"That's not true," he told her quietly, staring intently into her eyes to convey his sincerity. "I remembered you."

The girl before him blinked in surprise. She felt her cheeks warm, her eyes beginning to sting, before she quickly turned her head to stare once more out the window.

"Don't get all sentimental on me, now," Mei said, her voice tight, but teasing. "I'm not good at handling other people's emotions."

But despite her words, she squeezed his hand gently. Sasuke smiled.

"What will you do now?" He asked her. He was nervous to hear her response. Would she disappear again? But Mei turned her head and looked at him in shock.

"You mean you're not going to turn me in?"

Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows at this. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "You said your dad was a police officer, didn't you? And that he was working on my case? Aren't you going to turn me in to him?"

Oh. Right. He had honestly forgotten that part.

The Uchiha sat back in his seat and stared dumbly at the steering wheel.

"I wasn't planning on it," he admitted quietly. "You never told me why you ran away in the first place, but I'm assuming it was for a good reason." He looked at her expectantly. "Right?"

Mei sighed in relief, sinking back with a small smile.

"Right," she assured him. Sasuke nodded.

"Then that's that," he said, turning away from her confused expression to start up the car.

"Where are we going?" Her voice was hesitant, but he reassured her with a smile.

"Somewhere safe."