Dance with the Devil

Summary: In which trouble-attracting dancer Sakura Haruno (unsurprisingly) stumbles upon three, wayward orphans and unexpectedly takes them under her wing. "So you don't know who I am?" "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should really get used to. {dance!AU / Sakura-centric}

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters beside my own and I don't own the 'Tower of Terror', the 'Goliath' or Netflix and any of the movies mentioned.

Warning: Crude language, possible suggestive innuendos

Inner Sakura - SHANNARO!

Sakura talking in her mind - 'SHANNARO!'

~ { Sakura meets Loss } ~

After a whole of two weeks, Sakura was sat down by both Mariko-obaa-san and Izanami. Her aunt was somehow not outfitted in party wear and was instead wearing a faded winter-y dress that looked two sizes too big on her. Considering Izanami was relatively sober and not hungover for this encounter, Sakura immediately assumed that whatever they were about to tell her was pretty important.

"Sakura-chan," Mariko-obaa-san gently began, "You understand that the boys can't stay forever, right?" Sakura instantly stiffened, knowing what they were trying to break down for her. "As much as you do love them, sweetheart," Izanami continued, smirking a little when she saw Sakura's eye twitch a little, "The authorities will come looking for them sooner or later." After two weeks of Sakura mothering and caring for the trio of abandoned boys, it was obvious that her niece had grown immensely fond of them.

"Can't-can't we adopt them?" Sakura said a tad desperately - spending the last few weeks with those boys had been as much fun as the week she had been at America for the International dancing competition.

Her aunt's twisted her lips into a contemplating purse. "Formally adopting them with my track record?" Izanami said dryly a few moments later and barked out a laugh. As much as she wanted to appease Sakura and make her happy, she doubted that the social services would allow four pubescent children after her many… dangerous night escapades.

Sakura could understand that - she been young, but she could still remembered Izanami stumbling in drunkenly into the house with a police officer more than once. Izanami's usually hard blue eyes softened as she observed Sakura's resolve. "As much as you do love them, darling," she said again with a little more seriousness and a little more care, "Sometimes you need to let the things you love go." Izanami's voice cracked a little at the end, and Sakura knew that bad memories had been brought up.

Though Izanami would gladly take in the boys for Sakura's sake, hiding from the authorities was something she didn't want to participate in. "But what will happen to them?" she asked in a small voice. Mariko-obaa-san offered the pink haired girl a sad little smile, "They'll most likely be separated into different foster homes, Sakura-chan."

A little tearful and a little more angry, Sakura determinedly declared, "I'll never let that happen to them." The fierce glint in her watery green eyes was reminiscent to those of a woman that Izanami once knew.

Sakura was evidently surprised by Izanami's input on the situation, as she rarely ever saw the softened, motherly side of her aunt. "I'll try for them." Sakura said with an intense air of persistence and both Mariko and Izanami knew that she wouldn't back down.

Sakura knew if that she couldn't let them stay in her home anymore, than perhaps she could do this little tidbit for them.

Izanami smiled a little wistfully, remembering when she used to be that naive, then ruffled her niece's pink hair, much to her indignation. "I suppose you'll be the one to tell them?" Mariko-obaa-san asked, although she knew the answer. Sakura nodded a little shakily and slipped up to the guest bedroom where the boys had occupied. Knocking on the door (because she didn't need a repeat of what happened when she had just burst in), she opened it hesitantly when she heard the holler of, "Come in!"

They were all scattered around the slightly cramped guest room, with Sasuke thumbing through a book of some kind, Naruto throwing a pen up at middle of the ceiling fan for some reason and Sai sketching a flower vase with a piece of charcoal and parchment she had helpfully supplied. The trio mostly called for her attention for entertainment, as there wasn't much to do but venture out to the park to look for Kurama every once and a while. She knew that there wasn't much to do when you were stuck in the house for days on end, but she and Mariko-obaa-san suggested they keep under the radar before someone recognized them.

She took a seat beside Naruto onto the bed, drawing her knees up to her chin as she leant back onto the headboard. Her green eyes grew a little more teary as she imagined life the next week; the empty routine she would have to repeat, and the hollowness of being alone at her own home. She had skipped out on the rest of her dance lessons, afraid that they might run away and didn't communicate with her friends as much she used to - she was afraid that they would ask questions, afraid that they might come looking for her. She realized just how afraid she was; all because the boys would be revealed.

Noticing that Sakura had grown unexpectedly quiet, Naruto nudged her side a bit, "You alright, Sakura-chan? You look like you're about to- wait, are you crying, Sakura-chan?!" Three pairs of eyes shot at her in concern - had they done something wrong? Sakura laughed a little, a mixture of wet tears and melodic, light-hearted laughter, and wiped her tears away hastily, "Nah - just a little sad is all." Her voice drifted off at the end as she sniffled a little.

"Why?" Naruto asked gently; Sakura was usually so fierce and strong - to see her tear up like this was both unusual and worrying. "It's-it's… it's just that you might have to go," her voice cracked a little at the end. She didn't realize how much she didn't want them to go, to leave her alone with only herself to keep her company, "You guys might have to leave, and-and be separated and you guys don't want that, right? So, I'll try, okay? I'll make sure to keep you guys together, and-and,"

Tears were spilling down her cheeks by now and her voice was stuttery with tears and worry. The boys had huddled closer to comfort the crying girl. Sakura heaved in deep breaths as she tried to wipe away her tears - she had to be strong dammit. The three enveloped the sobbing girl into a soppy mess of a hug. Even Naruto started sniffling into Sasuke's sleeve before he mumbled, "Stop that, Dobe." but they didn't let go until Sakura's cries dwindled into soft, uneven breathing.

"I'll try, okay?" she whispered into the shoulder of one of the boys - it was hard when her eyes were still slightly blurry with tears and they were bundled into one big lump. There was nods of appreciation in response to her declaration. After a few moments, they tried untangling themselves, which proved to be a hard feat when Naruto kept kicking Sai in the head whenever someone (mostly Sasuke and Sakura) tickled his side.

Afterwards, when they were all leaning onto the backboard of the bed, Sai murmured a grateful, "Thank you." on behalf of each of the boys. Sakura could feel his smile as he tacked on a cheerful "Ugly." on the end. Sakura's eyes have gone a little watery but she grins wide and leans over Sasuke to swat his arm like she always does, then Naruto guffaws loudly and she shares a little smirk with Sasuke.

When they all join in with Naruto's boisterous laughter, Sakura wishes that perhaps they could always stay like this.


The next day at breakfast, Sakura realizes that they've formed a routine; Naruto would wake her and Sai up when he began his daily cooking 'theme song', they would then stumble down the stairs to find Sasuke trying to block out Naruto's horrendous singing and then they would all enjoy a delicious, new breakfast every morning. Naruto had a knack for slipping hot chili peppers into Sasuke's orange juice whenever he was bin particularly irritable and he also loved cooking new meal each morning. After realizing that little tidbit, she also learnt that she had memorized all their quirks and personality treats. For example, you should never wake up before Sasuke if you wanted to continue living (he had delightfully terrifying bed head), that Naruto would always criticize the way you cooked even if you were just making tea and that Sai's insult vocabulary was ridiculously large when you woke him up from a nap.

Though the trio had opened up to her considerably, they still refused to tell her why they were wandering around at dusk by themselves. After much insistent prodding, Naruto had finally snapped at her, his vibrant, blue eyes that portrayed so much emotion flashing dangerously at her. She backed off in fear of angering them again, but there was always an irresistible nag at the back of her mind to find out what was going on with them.

When they were in the middle of their breakfast, Sakura suddenly exclaimed, "An amusement park!" Sai raised an amused eyebrow in response. They all looked questioningly at her, obviously interested and amused at her revelation. She smiled brightly, green eyes sparkling, and slammed her palms onto the table in excitement, "Let's go to an amusement park!" A brightly coloured flyer had caught near the entrance, along with the rest of the mail.

The social services agent would come to collect the boys in two days time, so Sakura had been searching for ways to brighten to the days before they left. "An… amusement park?" Naruto asked, tilting his blonde head adorably in curiosity. Sakura gasped in horror, "You've never been?!" With a shake of their heads, Sakura declared determinedly, "We are going to one today."

After cleaning and preparing breakfast for Izanami, they calculated the total amount of money they needed for the entrance fee and the whole lot of food Sakura intended on getting. Instead of Mariko-obaa-san, Sakura instead went up to wake her aunt up with her breakfast, but to also pester Izanami for some money. Though she could easily just slip some money out of Izanami's purse, she found that her aunt was becoming more… frugal with her savings. After waking Izanami up, Sakura received a half-asleep, mumbled consent of permission and she bound out the room with the money.

Hollering down the stairs for the boys to get ready, she entered her room only to find her phone flashing with notifications. Upon seeing who the sender was, Sakura immediately felt the untouched pit of guilt gnaw in her stomach. Ino had left her numerous texts, DMs and voice mails asking where she was in the past two weeks and why she had been skipping dance lessons. Sakura felt extremely guilty and slightly terrified that Ino had been so concerned about her - what kind of best friend was she?

Although she should've told Ino that she would be occupied, but she was kind of engrossed in spending time with her boys… wait a second.

Did she just refer to them as… hers? Sakura had definitely formed a bond with them, but she hadn't yet gone as far as to claim them as her property. Feeling a little light headed at her revelation, she called Ino after hesitating several times.

When Ino pinally picked up her phone, Sakura couldn't honestly say that she was ready for Ino's rather loud verbal assault. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, FOREHEAD? I've been calling and texting you almost every hour for the last two weeks! Did you even use your phone AT ALL during that time period?!" Sakura hadn't bothered with her phone after it had ran of out of battery that evening two weeks ago. In fact, she had only gone to charge it that morning for their trip to the amusement park. "...regionals are right around the corner! Have you even been practicing?!" Sakura wince in guilt - she had practiced her solo in the mirror when she had the time, but her group dance… not so much. The Sakura three weeks ago would have been religiously rehearsing and repeating her routine until she could perform it without fail, but recently, she more often than not neglected to practice.

Sakura had never realized how much she had devoted her life to dance when she thought about how much hours after school and during the holidays she spent in her dance studio. She guessed that perhaps a few weeks relaxing did her good, because also she seemed to do was dance. Sakura definitely loved her sport and didn't regret devoting the last year to it, but she also realized that she needed to take break from it before she didn't have anything but dance.

She weakly answered Ino's questions, but made sure to keep her answers vague, as to not reveal the trio's presence. Ino was very much her best and closest friend, but that girl had a mouth on her, and she had a very hard time keeping secrets to herself.

After Ino's seventeenth time reminding Sakura to go back to dance lessons before the end of the holidays, she heard the trio oncoming as Naruto roared with laughter at something Sasuke said to Sai. Slapping her palm to her forehead in exasperation, she quickly interrupted Ino's gossip-filled rambles, "Sorry, Ino, go to go - love you!" She quickly ended the phone call before Ino could protest.

Her door was burst open just as she sighed in relief and her- the boys strolled in, dressed and ready to go. She scowled at them for being so bloody loud and said, "Have you no common courtesy? Don't just burst into a lady's room without knocking, gentlemen." She tacked a mock-haughty sniff to the end. She pushed them out with a laugh and ignored Naruto's indignant protests and Sai's pleasant reply of, "I see no lady present, Ugly."

After a quick scan of her wardrobe, Sakura realized just how much casual clothing she had, other than sweatpants and sweatshirts; her closet mostly consisted of her dance uniforms, performing leotards and other clothing associated with dancing. There probably was only a pair of jeans or two and a few shirts Kaori-sempai had passed on to her that she could wear. She laid out her outfit and went to take a quick shower. She made sure to double check that the door was properly locked before she could actually shower. When she had stripped down to her underwear, Sakura noticed how… androgynous she looked. She didn't have Ino's curves or Ami's slim waist; she was just flat. Being self-conscious was a major reason why she chose to become a dancer - when she was on stage, it didn't really matter about physical attributes when you look just as feminine and graceful with your movements. When she heard that she would be playing the star in the Christmas showcase last year, she had proven that she didn't need to looks to trump the more prettier dances when you had skill.

After a rushed but relaxing shower, she tiptoed to her bedroom to get dressed. After a rather embarrassing encounter with Sai in only her towel the week previous, she had made sure to avoid the trio as best she could. After making it successfully to her bedroom, she got dressed into the warmest clothes she could find and pulled on her lime green sneakers. Her trusty shoes had been gifted by Mariko-obaa-san on her eleventh birthday and was eternally grateful for the sturdy pair of shoes.

Pulling her short hair into a bun at the top of her head, she grabbed her coat and made it out down the stairs in record time. All of the boys were waiting impatiently for her at the front door, accompanied with Mariko-obaa-san, who would be 'supervising' them on their trip. When they got into the woman's quaint little car, Sakura ushered Sai into the passenger seat so she could sit between Naruto and Sasuke to stop (read: attempt to stop) their bickering. When they arrived, both Naruto and Sasuke had earned themselves bruises on their jaws, courtesy of Sakura, and Sai had been supplying the older woman with compliments and praise whilst Sakura was occupied.

Although visiting the amusement park wasn't as cool-looking in the cold winter than it was in summer, the flashing luminescent lights and inviting aroma of fresh churros was just as appealing. The boys were suitably impressed by the vibrant scenery as Mariko paid for their entrance fees and tickets to go on the rides and such. The older woman had shooed them away, allowing them to venture the teeming park by themselves.

Sakura handed the boys a map of the amusement park and glowed as their eyes widened in awe. "So," she said smugly, proud that they were so impressed, "Where do you guys wanna go first?"

CHA! Inner exclaimed whilst pumping a nonexistent fist into the air. We knew that they were gonna like it!

Inner had been more quiet the past few weeks - she had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the fact that Sakura herself was showing off the part Inner represented more; the more loud, exuberant, hot-tempered side she usually kept suppressed under her tough, cool exterior. With each passing day, she noticed that her boys brought out more of her personality.

Soon enough, Naruto began shooting off a list of the most dangerous-looking roller coasters, rapidly scanning the map for the scariest attractions. Sai looked alarmingly pleasant as he nodded along happily to Naruto's list of rides. Sasuke seemed indifferent, though he was appreciatively eying the tall structure of the 'Tower of Terror' in the distance.

The amusement park had only opened up two hours prior, and it was around midday by now, so it was at it's most packed state right about now. Sakura frowned in thought as she surveyed the long lines of the more popular attractions. "Let's try the High Striker," she suggested, pointing at the tall pillar near the food stalls that had little to no people lining up for it. Knowing that the trio of boys loved competition, she slyly said, "Maybe we can figure out who's the strongest." The familiar determined glint appeared in their eyes as they simultaneously bounded off in the direction she pointed to. Sighing in fond exasperation, she mumbled to herself about overexcited pubescent boys and unnecessarily loud children.

When she arrived behind the boys, they were already bickering over who would go first. Sakura sighed once again and commanded over their ruckus, "Naruto, you go first." Handing the appropriate amount of tickets to the operator, she quirked an eyebrow in amusement when Naruto struggled to even pick up the mallet. Sai sighed next to her, "Dickless, if you can't even pick up the mallet, you should just give up now." Sasuke smirked as Naruto waved the hammer about it in Sai's direction indignantly, "I doubt you can ever carry this friggin' thing with your stick arms!"

Sai only shrugged in response as Sasuke and Sakura raised questioning eyebrows at him. Naruto, trying to put up a bravado, had rolled up his sleeves in preparation. "We can't wait until Easter, Dobe," Sasuke drawled as Naruto made a show of raising the mallet high above his head. When the mallet made contact with the lever, the puck was only raised to a pathetic height of mid-level. Sai's pleasant tone pierced the silence after Naruto's pitiful attempt, "You should've stopped while you could, Dickless." Sasuke's smirk had grown even wider while Naruto slunked with his head hung in shame next to Sakura. "That was alright," Sakura consoled Naruto, patting the top of his spiky, blonde hair. Naruto immediately brightened with a grin, "Really?" Sakura sweat-dropped at Naruto's rather bright response and answered with a pat on his shoulder, "Sure."

Sasuke scowled a little as he stepped up in order to prove his higher worth than Naruto. He picked up the mallet with a slight grunt, to which Naruto hooted with laughter, "Told ya it was heavy!" Sasuke simply ignore Naruto's taunts and positioned the mallet diagonal to the level. When it came down onto the lever, the puck had risen marginally higher than Naruto's did. The blonde sputtered as Sasuke shot him a smirk that seemed to say told-you-I-was-stronger-Dobe without even trying.

"I guess it's my turn," Sai said mildly, picking up the mallet with much more ease than both Naruto and Sasuke did. Naruto's jaw hit the ground and even Sasuke grunted uncomfortably.

Ah, Inner said almost fondly, Manly pride.

Sai's strike had risen much higher than even Sasuke's and he made it look like he didn't try. "Bu-what-" Naruto gaped in incredulous shock. "Good job, Sai." Sakura praised with a smile but Sai looked away to hid his tinted cheeks.

When Sakura made a move to head to a different stall, Naruto exclaimed, "Aren't you gonna give it a go, Sakura-chan?" Sakura shrugged in reply, not really in the mood to participate in such strenuous activities, but Sai's call of, "Too cowardly to even try, Ugly? Perhaps females are incredibly weak." stopped her cold. Marching back to the stall, Sakura had impulsively taken Sai's bait. The trio of boys looked on, interested to see where her puck would reach. She stuffed a few tickets into the surprised operator's hand and positioned herself in front of the High Striker.

Sakura bent low and grabbed the mantle with only her right hand and picked it up easily. She threw a smug smile over her shoulder as she spun the heavy mallet in her hand skilfully. She could feel their jaws reach the ground - even the operator was shocked.

We're totally bad-ass, Inner gushed as Sakura positioned to strike the lever.

Her acro teacher had instructed her to pack on some muscles in her arms when she struggled to even perform a handspring because she lacked the sheer arm strength. In the time she spent as a dancer and a gymnast-in-training, she had packed on quite some strength in her arms. Though she was very strong in terms of weight lifting, most of the mallet-lifting was done through and it was a mixture of both her strength and her need to shove Sai's face in the proverbial dirt for taunting her like that. She swung the mallet down, and with a ping, the puck hit the bell at the top at a rapid speed.

Dropping the mallet with a loud thud, she wiped off the nonexistent dust from her hands and smiled sweetly over her shoulder to see all of the boy's mouths gaping wide open, "What stall next, boys?" After getting over their overall shock, they all agreed to get lunch. Like the hungry pubescent boys they were, they piled up on an assortment of churros and half-priced hot dogs, but Sakura, not wanting to feel left out, joined in on their feast. After gorging on greasy foods, they all agreed to follow Naruto's race around the amusement park - they first began with the biggest of them all, dubbed the 'Goliath' for its massive size.

That's one big mothertrucker, Inner whistled inside the privacy of her mind. Sakura agreed numbly as she stood, mouth agape as they stood under the towering shadow of the gigantic roller coaster.

"Ya wanna try it?" Naruto questioned, his nervousness hidden under a curtain of bravado. Not wanting to be trumped by the blonde, Sasuke announced, "I'm game." Sai tilted his head forward in consent, "I'm dubious about Dickless' ability to pass the height restriction, but I suppose I'll join as well." Sakura shot Naruto a scathing look before he could make a scene in front of the crowd of strangers.

"Might as well," Sakura sighed as Naruto excitedly dragged them to the back of the line. After an excruciatingly long period of waiting in a bloody line, all of them had grown past simply 'impatient'. Before Naruto could burst into another fit of frustration, Sakura hushed him as they finally reached the front of the line. "Finally!" Naruto heaved dramatically, immediately rushing to the front of the carriages.

"Wait." the operator called. Sakura curiously glanced back to find the teen beckoning her closer. "Is something wrong?" she asked slowly, raising her eyebrows at him. The operator cleared his voice and said, "You need to meet the height restrictions." Sakura felt her eye twitch as Sai snickered somewhere behind her. A dark aura began to grow around her, her killing intent filling the area from the rather rude operator to the impatient people in the roller coaster cart. "H-here," he stuttered, holding a measured metal stick out for her. Lining it up with her admittedly short stature, Sakura triumphantly found that she just barely made it over the height limit. The operator, still slightly traumatized from Sakura's slowly dissipating anger, shakily held out his arm for them to enter.

"About time!" Naruto grabbed her by the wrist and gently tugged her in the direction of the front of the carriage. "Naruto!" Sakura admonished as she slipped into the front compartment next to Naruto. Both Sasuke and Sai were seated in the carriage behind them, probably thanking their lucky stars that they didn't have the fortune of hearing Naruto shriek like a newborn right in their ears.

Naruto really did have to choose the front seat of one of the most ginormous rollercoasters, didn't he? Inner commented dryly once the roller coaster began to move forward.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as they approached the first dip, readying herself both mentally and physically. As the carriage flew down at like an oncoming wave of water, Sakura opened her clenched eyes hesitantly and looked to the side to find that Naruto was not in fact screeching his lungs out, but grinning like the sun didn't shine.

"THAT WAS SO COOL." Sakura managed to breath out as the track flattened into sharp twists and turns. She dimpled a grin at Naruto, who was struggling to heave in breaths from overwhelming excitement, and snuck her hand into his. Shyly meeting his startlingly vibrant eyes as they approached another large dip, he squeezed her small hand in his, beaming at her sparkling green eyes.

Once the ride finished, Sakura was still on an adrenaline high. At first, they were all highly amused by her rather enthusiastic change of personality, the trio struggled to appease the vibrant girl as she dragged them from roller coaster to roller coaster until they couldn't take it anymore.

"Another one, guys?" Sakura grinned, cheeks flushed and she had yet to notice the slightly queasy looks on the boy's faces.

Hell yeah! Inner hollered, pumping fists into the air left and right - she had been the one to (secretly) inspire the excitement into the usually calm and collected Sakura.

"Neh, Sakura-chan," Naruto began, his face paler than it had been about seven roller coaster rides ago, "Why don't we take a little break?" Sakura rolled her eyes at him for what felt like the billionth time - hadn't he been the one to gallivant around the most scariest rides? "Whyyyy?" Sakura pouted, the rush of fear and excitement still on her mind. It seemed that the burst of adrenaline Sakura had experience had yet to disappear. The three had never seen Sakura so excited, so exhilarated - it was both a pleasant and terrifying change of heart.

"What he means to say, Ugly, is that you're obviously not in control and that we all deserve a rest. Especially you." Sai smiled cheerfully and ushered Sakura in the direction of the seating area. Before Sakura could protest, she stopped cold and slumped into a blurry daze. "It seems she's finally caught up with herself," Sasuke drawled dryly, scooping up the short girl's shoulders and gently steered a stumbling Sakura to a nearby bench. Both Naruto and Sai sighed in relief, slumping into the wooden seats of the bench and mentally noted to never encourage an adrenaline-high Sakura ever again.

When it was obvious that Sakura wouldn't be getting up and bounding around like a chipmunk anymore, Sai called Mariko to meet them near the entrance with Sakura's phone. The pink haired girl blinked blearily, mumbling incoherently words into Naruto's shoulder. The three guided Sakura through the throng of excited children and made sure to keep her from stumbling into anything and anyone. When they met Mariko at the entrance gate, they found the older woman's arms overfilled with a mountain of sweets, potato chips, churros and almost every food from nearly every food stall in the park. Mariko's salt and pepper head poked out from behind a packet of chips to smile at the four. "Izanami-kun's orders." she said very seriously to the four, then beckoned the boys to help her with the mountain of snacks.

All of them packed into Mariko's car and once Naruto had zipped Sakura in, she had already passed out in a dead faint. When they returned to the house, Izanami had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Upon the sight of the large assortment of snacks, she licked her lips with the hunger of a wild animal and took all of it in one big swoop of her slender arms. "Junk food is her only guilty pleasure besides alcohol." Mariko confided in the trio secretly with a wink as Izanami skipped away.

The boys attempted to carry Sakura's light form up the stairs, but stopped trying when Naruto kept hitting her head on the rail trying to smack Sai. Instead they laid her out in the plush couch in the living room and left her to get tucked in by Mariko.

"Ugly's features look rather blissful when not contorted in anger," Sai commented absentmindedly. Naruto scowled at him and said, "She only looks like that around you," Sasuke agreed with a snort as he laid a blanket over her prone body.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open at the sudden weight of the thick comforter. In a heavy, half-asleep tone, she asked them, "Did you guys have fun today?" Instead of fussing over her, Naruto's eyes met with both Sai and Sasuke. "Yes," Sai answered instead, a real but still small smile on his pale features, "We did." Sakura smiled knowingly and drifted back to sleep.


In the morning, their routine hadn't changed. Even with only the period of one whole day left, Naruto still cooked them some spicy Indian breakfast, Sai still commented absentmindedly on Sakura's fluffy bedhead and Sasuke still woke up earlier than anyone else.

"I feel like having a lazy day," Sakura yawned as she reclined into a pleasurably comfy chair in the lounge room, "Don't you?" Maybe it was because of the rather hectic day they had the day previous or perhaps it was because they wanted as much time to themselves as possible, the trio all agreed on her decision.

Eyes sparkling and still sitting in her rumpled clothes from the day before, Sakura declared, "Let's a lazy onesie day!" Not one of the boys had ever heard of a 'onesie' before, much to the pink haired girl's horror and simultaneous delight of introducing them to something so extravagant.

Dragging all of them up to her wardrobe, she pulled out her rather extensive collection of soft animal designed pajama-wear, she introduced the wonder of 'onesies' to the three. "I don't see anything you find so special about it," Sai said skeptically as he rubbed the soft material of Stitch's ear. Naruto and Sasuke were too busy bickering about who looked the most like the Totoro one. "Honestly, you three," she huffed, patting the pant leg on her favourite one. Whether they liked it or not, they would be getting into these suits. Somewhere in the depths of Sakura's mind, Inner laughed maniacally.

Shoving a specified onesie into each of the boys hands, she marched them out to go and get dressed into their new attire. After locking her door, she changed into more comfortable pajamas and threw on her favourite one out of the lot; her much-worn, Rilakkuma onesie. Opening her door, she nearly squealed at the adorableness of finding the three of them in a two sizes too small onesie. She had specifically chosen one for each of them; Pikachu for Naruto, the Panda for Sai and the Stitch one for Sasuke.

"Come in, come in!" she beamed at them, and pointedly ignored their disgruntled mutters and embarrassed blushes. Once they had all settled on Sakura's bed, she was already combing through the Netflix lists - one day when Sakura was sick, Izanami had worryingly installed a TV in fear that Sakura would become 'bored'. To say that her aunt had gone overboard was like comparing Naruto's brightness to a flickering candle. But in the end, she knew that her aunt was right when she had outright declared that, "Every growing young girl must at least have had Netflix once in their life." Her beloved TV had proven to be immensely useful when she binge watched Disney movies - like right now.

"What are we watching?" Naruto ventured curiously, glancing at Sakura's concentrated look on the TV. "Disney marathon." she said very seriously. Honestly - it was like these boys had had their childhood stolen away!

The boys chose just to go with flow, because ignorance was better than having Sakura hammering down on you for interrupting her 'concentration'. When Mariko arrived with a large bowl of buttered popcorn and an almost apologetic smile, they knew that they were in for a session of staring at a screen for hours.

Sakura began with 'Finding Nemo', then continued on with 'Bambi' and then she flicked to 'The Lion King' next - and as expected, one of them cracked when Simba's heartbreaking sob pierced the silence of the room. This peaceful ambiance went on for hours until the large bowl of popcorn ran out and Mariko-obaa-san went to refill it.

The lights had been shut off, so when the door cracked open to reveal a sliver of light, it was slightly painful to the eye. When Moriko arrived again, Sakura glanced at the boys to find Naruto with tear-stained cheeks and a sniffly nose. Without a word and a blistering glare at Sai before he could make a smart ass comment about Naruto unmanliness, she passed Naruto a tissue - the last movie they had watched had been the Fox and the Hound after all, so she could relate.

When Sakura was satisfied with their Disney marathon and half of them had already drifted off to sleep watching Up, Sakura flicked off the TV with a contented yawn and curled into Naruto's side to sleep.


When Sakura woke, she hoped it was a nightmare.

The boys had disappeared downstairs and she was curled up all alone on her bed. Slipping out of the suddenly cold covers, she crept down the stairs to hear hushed whispers and angry mutters.

The social services agent finally arrived, Inner's voice was suddenly very small.

Sakura crept down the steps, the wooden floorboards sending an icy chill up her legs. A professional looking woman dressed in crisp, stark clothing with stern, pointed features stood with a scuffling Sasuke at the door. Her lips were pursed impatiently, as if she had something better to do than pick up three orphans and if Sakura wasn't stuck to the floorboards in fear, then she would've firmly told the woman to rethink her career decisions.

"They were just going to leave without saying goodbye." she whispered softly, suddenly blank eyes tracing over Sasuke's figure over and over until she could fully process the thought. She felt like running away. To escape the loss and emptiness that accompanied heartbreak - why had she let them get so close? After her parents passed, Sakura had been afraid. Afraid of making new friends and opening up her emotions to anyone - all because of the fear of losing someone again.

If they're not coming back, Inner said quietly, Then might as well keep our promise to them, ne? Inner's voice normally boisterous and determination-fueled voice sounded a little more blank than usual.

With a firm resolve, Sakura marched down the stairs to keep her promise. Both the woman and Sasuke raised questioning eyebrows at her - she probably did look ridiculous, didn't she? Outfitted in a loose fitting onesie and hair mussed with sleep, she stood determinedly bare-foot in front of the agent.

Before Sasuke or whoever was watching tried to stop her, she whispered up at the woman with a dead look in her usually lively green eyes, "Keep them together. Please." Nodding stiffly at the pink haired girl, the woman looked past Sakura's head to nod almost robotically at someone else, probably Naruto and Sai, and then slipped out the door.

Walking past Sai, whom tried to offered a small but heartrendingly genuine smile, she stopped behind Naruto and opened her suddenly dry lips to whisper a soft-spoken, "Thank you." They all bowed respectfully to a tearful Mariko and a glass-eyed Izanami, then walked out of the door to someplace else - somewhere that was probably better for them.

When she heard the card door click close, she soon realized what she was doing, what they were doing - they were just leaving without properly saying goodbye.

She ran out, bare feet slapping against the pavement to wave at the passing car with tears rolling down her cheeks and a big grin lighting up her bright green eyes. "We'll meet again!" she shouted after them, "I promise!"

Wiping away her tears, she marched up back inside and into her room feeling a little more broken with each step. Fidgeting with her phone, she flicked into her contacts to call the one person who would understand her the most. Ino. She didn't properly start crying until she was heaving heartbroken sobs into the phone and then Ino was whispering to her, "I'm coming over."

Even if they didn't see or hear her, she would keep that promise until she could meet them again. She promised.


Author's Note: I understand that their goodbye was a little more tearful than normal goodbyes would be if you had only known someone for two weeks, but I tried to emphasize the fact that Sakura was a pubescent girl with slightly uncontrollable emotions, and is also extremely naive. On another note, tried to make the reason why Inner Sakura was little more vacant more clear. I by no means am an expert in how the government usually handles foster care and such, but I tried my best to make it as realistic as possible.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter ;3

Reviews are love~