The Dangers of a Pet

3. You're My Family!


Haruno Sakura had never expected to let some blonde-haired, loud-mouthed kid to stay in her home. But life always gave her surprises, and it seemed like there were more in store.

Presently, she was looking into the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke at a grocery store.

Grocery store.

Her immediate reaction was a gasp. Uchiha Sasuke in a grocery store?! That was unthinkable.

As though the man before her noticed her (quite evident) surprise, he defended himself, "I do live alone, Sakura."

And someone has got to do the grocery shopping.

But Sakura gasped again when her gaze lowered to his basket of instant food, which seem to shrink against Sakura's basket of fresh vegetables, fruits, raw meat and seasonings.

"I can cook –" Sakura blurted out.

"No" was his immediate reaction.

"But I was thinking of making tomato soup and steak with tomato sauce and…" Sakura mumbled, making up the dinner menu on the spot. Upon seeing Sasuke hesitate, Sakura thought that maybe she stood a chance.

Can she still hope?

Just then, her phone rang. It was from her home.

Oh my god. I totally forgot about Naruto! Wait, but this is a good chance. I could get him to leave so I can invite Sasuke-kun over!

"Oh, it's from my pet fox," Sakura reassured her beloved Sasuke-kun with a wink so that he wouldn't misunderstand. He definitely couldn't find out that a boy was living in her home! She failed to notice, however, the strange look Sasuke had that went something like "wow she's crazy enough to talk with her pet on the phone."

"Hey Sakura-chan, I was thinking we could have ramen with hot-pot today!" A cheerful voice was heard on the other side of the phone, but Sakura merely replied, "Oh, Na-chan, go play with another fox today~ I'm going to bring a, ehm, a friend over." She stole a gaze at Sasuke with a blush.

"Sakura," Sasuke spoke, and upon hearing a strange man's voice, Naruto started yelling, "HEY, SAKURA-CHAN, ARE YOU CHEATING ON –"

She immediately turned off her phone.

That idiot Naruto! How dare he say I'm cheating on him! It's not even like we're going out. He's just… He's just…

"Your pet," Sasuke spoke up, "Who is he?"

"Oh, uh, just a fox you don't really need to care about, Sasuke-kun, hehe…" Sakura tried to smile away his suspicion, but failed.

"Cook me something. I'm going over to your place." Sasuke mumbled as he replayed the voice from the phone… It sounded like Naruto, his annoying rival at the police force. There was a competition for a commander position coming up, so maybe he could do some spying…

Meanwhile, inner Sakura jumped up and down in joy! Uchiha Sasuke was coming over!

. . .

Tomatoes, tomatoes, and more tomatoes. Grocery bags were threatening to rip from the overflowing number of tomatoes. But tomatoes were a small exchange for dear Sasuke-kun. In fact, Sakura was willing to eat tomatoes for the rest of her life if she could be with Sasuke-kun.

So there they were, Sakura fumbling with the key and Sasuke standing quietly behind her with the grocery bags…

Just as she opened the door with a click, Naruto jumped out with his arms in the air, in ready stance to pounce.

"SAKURA-CHA –"

The blond-haired boy froze as soon as he saw Sasuke behind her. But he did finish by hugging his Sakura-chan anyway. She tried to pull away, hissing "Naruto, let go!" but his arms were too strong.

Then, pulling her away from the Uchiha, Naruto barked, "What's that bastard doing here?!"

Upon seeing Naruto's hands squeezing Sakura's shoulders protectively, Sasuke smirked and replied, "I'm not interested in her, loser. Just thought I'd see how you were failing the upcoming competition."

For a second, the blond-haired boy froze, as though ice had momentarily spiked through his hot, fire-like soul. Then, his face broke out into an incredulous, idiotic look as his jaws dropped, "HOW DID YOU KNOW I FAILED?"

Except Sasuke didn't. With a puzzled look, he waited for Naruto to go on.

"Oh, you used your family's name huh? You damn Uchihas," Naruto growled, his fire-like anger growing inside him. "Satisfied now that you got me out cus I don't have a family?"

Sakura had been struggling against Naruto's arms, but upon hearing his words, she gave up. Suddenly, (and memories came in abrupt sequences) she finally remembered why and how this blond-haired boy had ended up in her home.

"Naruto," she spoke up, pulling him inside, towards the living room sofa. "I remember you now," she looked into his blue (yet fiery red with anger) eyes, trying to calm him down.

When he showed no protest, Sakura hurriedly went up to the Uchiha standing just outside the door. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I'll make you dinner some other day, okay?" she apologized with a smile, though Sasuke was busy trying to figure out just why Naruto had already failed a competition that hadn't even begun.

Back inside, Sakura sat beside Naruto and tried to recount what she remembered as much as possible: "That was the first time I got drunk, like really drunk the way Tsunade-shishou often gets, and I thought you were a fox, Naruto, so I decided to take you home as a pet… I thought you were a fox! Cus you know, your hair was all fluffy and golden -"

"Oh," Naruto broke in, "Is that what you remembered?"

"Yeah… Why? Were there more?" Sakura unconsciously bit her nails, as she imagined what else could possibly have happened. Did he, perhaps… sleep… Did they sleep… E-hem, did they do that?

"Aww, so you don't remember us fucking and you were pleading for more so I decided to teach you a lesson and –"

"KYAAAA" Sakura screamed out in full terror. "THAT DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN, DID IT?" She had been too drunk, so that didn't seem all that impossible…

Naruto laughed as he reassured her, "No, Sakura-chan, I told you I'm a virgin."

"Oh, uh, right. You did… imply that." Sakura blushed, now wanting to change the subject. "So, what was that about you failing some competition?"

"Hmm… I'll tell you if you…" A lecherous gaze appeared in his eyes. "Let me touch your breasts."

Sakura, instantly fired with anger and annoyance and perhaps teeny bit of lust too (just a teeny, tiny bit, she convinced herself), pulled back her right fist for a hit. Before she landed a punch on Naruto, he caught his wrist and pulled her close, as close as their lips touched for a split second.

"Thanks for the kiss!" Naruto beamed with a smile. Before Sakura could retaliate, however, Naruto's face was suddenly shadowed with gravity and… was it sadness? He continued, "Well, the competition's a week from now, but I got a notice from the upper levels of the police force that I'm out. They said I can't participate cus I don't have a family member. But I think that's just an excuse cus I'm better than Sasuke-teme but they don't want me – they want an Uchiha."

"Oh" was all Sakura could say for a while, having temporarily forgotten her first (stolen) kiss. Then, she gently gave him a hug as she said, "Naruto, you're my family now."

"WHOA!" Suddenly springing to life, Naruto yelled in joy, "YOU MEAN WE'RE GONNA GET MARRIED? HOW MANY KIDS SHOULD WE HAVE?"

"As a pet, Naruto, you're my family as a pet." Sakura firmly stressed on her point, making sure this idiot understood her. Obviously, he didn't.

"I'M THINKING OF RAISING A KIDS FARM!" Naruto was still lost in his world. "Cus like, that means we get to do it a lot, right? And it'd be a dream come true to have little Sakura-chans and little versions of me, too!"

Off and off he rambled, and nothing Sakura said went through him. Or so she thought. Exhausted, she hopped in the shower. Once finished, she was surprised to see Naruto still in his dreamy world, so she turned off the lights and climbed into her bed.

It was then the idiot finally shut up and tried to crawl beside her.

"NOT MY BED, NARUTO. GET. OUT." Sakura shouted as she pushed him away.

"But you said I was your pet, Sakura-chan. Pets can sleep with their masters, right?"

Oh my god, that sounds wrong.

When Sakura looked at Naruto, however, he had such an innocent front, she gave up and sighed, "Fine, you can sleep there." She pointed toward the floor by the edge of the bed.

During the night, Naruto secretly snuck in her bed anyway and snuggled close to her. Feeling her warmth, he dozed off right away…

. . .

In his dream was a replay of the night a few days ago. He had just been told that he was dropped from the competition, solely on the basis that he had no family. It was crushing enough to grow up as an orphan, but to be dropped out because of that reason…?

Then, he spotted Sakura, slow and heavy with drunkenness.

Ah, I better get her somewhere safe… He thought when he realized that some men were about to make a move toward her.

"Ah! What a cyute fox!" Sakura's words slurred a bit, as her hands ruffled his hair playfully. "Yew can bee my pet froem now on, my family! Ehehe."

Family.

She said I could be her family.

As though her words had been a key to some lock, tears and tears poured down his face as he let himself be patted by her gentle hands.

. . .

Presently, those "gentle" hands were slapping his cheeks ten times and finishing him off with an uppercut.

"W-WHAT?" Naruto woke up, alert. "What did I do, Sakura-chan?"

"YOU WERE TOUCHING MY CHEST YOU PERVERT!" Sakura yelled as she threw pillows at him.

His cheeks stung, but the feel of her breasts lingered in his hands. Ah, a good start to a good morning…


Notes. This chapter got a tiny bit serious, eh? Sorry about that. I like humorous NaruSaku, too. Hm, I wonder if this will ever change its rating? (To M, of course LOL)