Time stopped.
They couldn't really be in the room with her. Itachi couldn't be that cruel… could he?
…Have her friends bid her goodbye for the first time since the traumatizing incident and for the last time she would be in town…
Sakura stared at the confused, tear-stained face of Yamanaka Ino as she leaned slightly away from the embrace.
"Take you to the orphanage..?" Ino gasped. "You think we're here to take you to the orphanage?!"
Sakura could only look at her friend. Naruto seemed as shocked as Ino. They were both pretty animated people.
But when she glanced at Sasuke, he looked like he had just confirmed a suspicion. And his pained gaze showed he didn't like what he was seeing.
Sakura swallowed.
Was it her hair? Should she have combed it more? Was it her dress? Did it not fit her? Was it her face? Did she look hideous? Did she miss a spot when she washed her face?
—Good heavens! Did she miss a button on her dress?!
"Why are we going to take you to the orphanage?!" Naruto almost exclaimed, earning a sharp hiss from Shikamaru. "Sorry," Naruto whispered. "Why would we take you to the orphanage?" he asked again, this time in a slightly hushed voice. "We're here to visit you. I brought the poster we were working on," he said, fishing a scroll strapped on his back. "We were able to finish it and—"
"Three minutes," Shikamaru hissed.
"You can't be serious!" Ino gasped.
"Wait," Sakura said, logic and sense finally dawning on her. "You're not supposed to be here, are you?"
"Are you scheduled to move to the orphanage today?" Sasuke asked in his trademark impassive manner.
"Y—Yes," Sakura shyly answered. "I'm supposed to leave the hospital with ANBU escorts in a few minutes."
"—without even saying goodbye to us?!" Naruto exclaimed. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! Does my father know this?"
"N—Naruto I—" Sakura frantically said in an attempt to tell him that she asked not to see her friends before she left.
"This is not time to wonder if the Hokage knows about this or not," Sasuke interrupted.
"Sasuke's right," Shikamaru said. "Just do what we're here for!"
"We're here to make Sakura-chan happy," Naruto said. "And there's no way she'll be happy in the orphanage!"
Sakura looked surprised at Naruto.
"I agree," Ino said, frowning at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru sighed. "So what..? What do you want to do?" he asked, knowing exactly what Naruto was about to suggest.
Naruto smiled reassuringly at Sakura. "We're getting you out of here."
Shikamaru slapped his forehead. "Troublesome," he hissed.
"G—Get me out?" Sakura asked, still confused at what was happening.
"You heard it right," Ino said, smiling at Sakura. "I'm with you, Naruto."
Naruto nodded and turned to Sasuke and Shikamaru. "Let's slip her into the Fire Exit with us."
"We're really going to do this?" Shikamaru hissed. "Do you have any idea what kind of shit we're already in?!"
Sakura cringed. Shikamaru rarely spoke in lengthy sentences. He also rarely cursed. That meant Shikamaru was dead serious about what was going on.
"Hey, it's okay," Sakura said. "You don't have to do this. I'll be—"
"Two minutes," Sasuke said, glancing at his wrist watch. "Let's get out of here," he said quickly grabbing Sakura's wrist.
Sakura froze at the warmth embracing her right wrist.
Sasuke was holding her wrist!
Naruto and Ino nodded. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
Naruto grabbed Sakura's left hand. "Don't worry Sakura-chan," he said. "We'll just sprint to the Fire Exit door across the hall."
"She can't take the stairs," Sasuke said, pulling Sakura up from the bed to stand beside him. "Her stitches might open up again."
"S—Stitches?" Sakura asked.
Yes, she had stitches. But last time the doctor mentioned her stitches, he said they were healed. She just wasn't allowed to run.
Okay. If she was supposed to run down the Fire Exit stairs, Sasuke was right.
"How are we going to—" Naruto said.
"No time," Shikamaru cut in. "Naruto, Ino, you run quickly to the Fire Exit once I open the door."
"Okay," Ino answered. "But what about—"
Shikamaru opened the door. "RUN!" Shikamaru said, dragging Ino and Naruto out the door. Sasuke was about to follow them out when Sakura pulled her hand back.
Sasuke looked frantically at Sakura.
She wasn't going to insist on staying, was she?!
"Wait," Sakura said. She turned to the side table and quickly grabbed two books. "Okay, I'm good."
Sasuke nodded and led her out to the hall where a nurse stood beside a cart of cleaning tools. Most of it was covered with a white linen sheet.
Sakura gasped at the sight of the nurse.
They were caught!
The nurse, wearing a surgical mask, raised his brow at Sasuke.
"Plan B," Sasuke said.
Sakura looked confused at Sasuke.
Plan B..?
The nurse lifted the white linen sheet to reveal an empty space in the cart.
Sasuke quickly crawled into the space and pulled Sakura to crawl into the space with him. Before Sakura could protest, the white linen sheet dropped to hide them inside the cart.
"Hush," Sasuke whispered, pulling her close to his chest.
Sakura swallowed. Luckily, it was too dark for Sasuke to notice the blush on her face. Her chest was close to his, though. Was he hearing her frantic heartbeat?
She slowly raised the books to cover her chest and closed her eyes.
The cart soon wheeled calmly down the corridor and headed to an elevator.
Sakura gasped as the cart rolled to a sudden halt. The force pushed Sakura closer to Sasuke, leaving a few inches of distance between their faces.
"Hush," Sasuke said, wrapping his arms around her to keep her from falling off the cart. "I got you," he whispered.
Sakura nodded and opened her eyes. She found herself looking straight into Sasuke's dark eyes in the dim light.
His eyes seemed to scrutinize her as the ground hummed beneath their feet to reach the lower floors of the hospital.
Sasuke couldn't help but notice how thin Sakura had become. Up close, the change on the shape of her face looked more apparent. Then there were her arms – almost bony arms that cradled two books against her chest.
He glanced down to examine the books and smirked. The books she took from the hospital were books he asked his mother and brother to give to her.
So she treasured his gifts to her. Did she like them?
"You don't have to do this," Sakura whispered. "You'll get into trouble."
"They shouldn't take you to the orphanage," Sasuke whispered back.
Sakura shook her head. "I have nowhere to go," she whispered.
"You have me," Sasuke whispered back.
Sakura's green eyes grew wide with shock.
"—Us," Sasuke corrected. "You have us."
Sakura swallowed and bowed her head. "I… I have to move on."
"That doesn't mean you have to forget about everything," Sasuke said. "It just means you're going to live without your p—…I mean you… I…" He sighed, unable to find the right words to express his thoughts.
Sakura smiled and nodded. She understood what Sasuke was trying to say. "Itachi-niisan told me that too," she whispered.
Sasuke froze. "A—Aniki?"
—Of course! Itachi had been with Sakura since she was taken to the hospital after all.
Sakura shyly nodded and looked away.
Sasuke felt something inside him twitch. He noticed how Sakura's eyelids fluttered ever so slightly as she looked away.
He had seen her do it so many times when they were in class. It was always when she was talking to him, or talking about him.
Sakura couldn't have fallen for Itachi, could she?
They felt the cart move again. The sudden movement made Sakura lean forward, closer to Sasuke. She quickly shut her eyes and tried her best to push away from him.
Sasuke watched Sakura cringe away from him. If she hadn't pushed away, they would have…
Sasuke swallowed and looked away.
…They would have kissed.
"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered.
"Hn," he replied – speechless.
"Are you still okay there, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he followed Ino and Shikamaru down the stairs.
Shikamaru told them not to look back once they reached the Fire Exit. They only had a limited time to get out of the hospital without alerting anyone in the premises.
And once the ANBU operatives arrive to take Sakura out of her room – where they will no doubt notice she was nowhere in the room – the hospital would be in total lock down. They had to get out of the building before the ANBU ordered all the exit points of the building to be shut down.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked again, noticing Sakura had been quiet the entire time they had been sprinting down the stairs. He turned his head to look behind him where Sasuke and Sakura should be.
"SAKURA-CHAN! TEME!" Naruto's voice echoed on the walls of the Fire Exit stairs.
"Shut up, idiot!" Ino shouted, turning around to glare at Naruto. "What are you—"
"TEME and SAKURA-CHAN ARE MISSING!" Naruto frantically shouted, standing on a step of the stairs.
Ino stopped running. Her blue eyes grew wide at the empty stairs behind Naruto. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"
"They're not missing," Shikamaru calmly said. "If we don't hurry, we'll get them into trouble!" he said, pulling Ino by the hand to get her to move.
Ino allowed Shikamaru to lead her down the steps. "Where are they then?!"
Naruto followed the two. "Yeah! They should be right behind me!"
"They took the elevator," Shikamaru answered.
"ELEVATOR?!" exclaimed Ino and Naruto.
"We'll have plenty of time to discuss this when we're out of the hospital," Shikamaru said.
Ino and Naruto glanced at each other and nodded.
They trusted Shikamaru. Besides, if Sasuke and Sakura really took the elevator, Shisui could have assisted them.
"Why didn't we take the elevator?" Naruto asked.
"Do you want to meet them downstairs or not?!" Shikamaru angrily hissed.
"Just shut up, Naruto!" Ino said.
"Okay! Okay… I was just curious…"
After all if there was a way for them to use the elevator, why didn't the three of them use it?
Kakashi sighed as he checked the DVRs recording the footages. The plan was to get rid of the recordings entirely once everything was done. Hopefully, the tapes didn't contain any recordings that would be necessary for a case or conflict in the hospital.
Well, it would contain information about the disappearance of a very important patient.
Kakashi glanced at Shisui who was pushing the cart in the maintenance hall at the hospital basement.
He also checked the Fire Exit where three kids were running past the third floor.
On another monitor screen, Kakashi caught a glimpse of Kotetsu, gasping for breath. He was walking a little limply out of the comfort room.
Kakashi glanced at the timer on the screen and nodded.
The laxative had worn off.
Luckily, everything seemed to be going according to Plan B.
"Kotetsu's on his way," Kakashi said, eyeing Kotetsu who was making his way to the elevator.
"We're almost there," Shisui replied.
Kakashi glanced at another monitor screen and spotted Shisui rolling his cart away from a group of maintenance employees. Shisui couldn't run because they might notice something was amiss.
Kakashi watched Kotetsu ride the elevator.
"Hurry up," Kakashi hissed.
"I'm on it!" Shisui hissed back. And sure enough, Kakashi spotted Shisui on another monitor parking the cart close to a group of hospital carts. Shisui lifted the sheet that covered the card – a signal for the two remaining kids that it was time for them to run.
"Let's go," Sasuke whispered, taking Sakura's hand and leading her out of the shelter of the cart.
Sakura gasped at the darkness surrounding them. It seemed like they were in the hospital's basement. She looked up and saw the nurse who drove the cart. He wore a surgical mask and the darkness hid the color of his hair. But his sharp eyes…
Sakura frowned, confused as to why his eyes looked…familiar…
"Come on, Sakura!" Sasuke hissed, half-dragging her to walk quickly toward the back door. "Are you in pain? I'll carry you."
"No," Sakura answered, turning to look at Sasuke. "I'm good," she said squeezing Sasuke's hand in reassurance.
"Are you sure?" Sasuke whispered.
Sakura nodded. She felt a little dizzy and weak but if they got caught then and there, Sasuke would be in a heap of trouble. She tightened her hold on the two books her free arm held across her chest.
"We just need to get through that door then we can relax," Sasuke said, nodding toward the door several paces away from them.
Sakura nodded and looked behind her to see if the man was going to follow them.
He had disappeared.
"He'll be fine," Sasuke said, knowing who she was looking for. "Let's go?"
Sakura looked at him and nodded.
They walked quickly toward the exit – their fingers clasped to make sure they didn't lose each other.
Kakashi watched Kotetsu panic at the sight of an unconscious Hagene on the hallway. The door of the room he was in opened and Kakashi gave a sigh of relief.
"Are they out?" Shisui asked, standing next to Kakashi and looking at the monitor screens for any sign of Sasuke and Sakura.
"Yes," Kakashi answered. "And Kotetsu will be calling for assistance."
Shisui smiled and turned to Kakashi. "Which is exactly why I'm here," he said before taking a step back, swiftly lifting up a mop he stashed from the cart of cleaning tools, and bashing the side of Kakashi's head before the man could react.
Kakashi flew sideways hitting the chairs, bouncing off the wall and dropping face-first on the floor.
Shisui crouched down beside Kakashi and choked the Jounin by the neck.
Kakashi weakly gasped for breath before he lost his consciousness.
Shisui then let Kakashi go. He took all the recordings, replaced it with blank tapes and wiped the surfaces to make sure the investigators wouldn't find a trace of his fingerprints.
"Nice working with you," Shisui said, giving the unconscious Kakashi a salute before walking out of the room.
"Where are Sasuke and Sakura?" Kiba asked upon meeting Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru outside the hospital.
The plan was for the group to meet with Chouji and Kiba in the restaurant after they exited the building.
"They should be on the other side of the hospital with Hinata and Shino," Shikamaru answered.
"They're here," Hinata responded in their earpieces.
Kiba, Chouji and Naruto sighed in relief.
Ino looked at Shikamaru. "You were really planning to get her out, weren't you?" she asked.
"No," Shikamaru said. "We just have a Plan B."
"A Plan B you forgot to tell us," Naruto said, frowning.
"We weren't sure if it was necessary," Shikamaru said. "It was risky too. If we get caught with her now, not only would we be called trespassers. We'll also be called 'kidnappers.'"
"If it means Sakura won't be thrown into the orphanage, I don't care," Naruto said.
Ino, Kiba and Chouji nodded.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He knew it would happen. But he still couldn't accept the fact that they were officially criminals at the tender age of 6 to 7.
"Where do we go from here?" Chouji asked.
"Let's convene first," Shikamaru said, looking around. "The ANBU reinforcements should be here any second now. We need to get away from here ASAP."
"Training grounds," Sasuke's voice echoed in their earpieces.
Naruto nodded. "Let's meet in the training grounds," he said.
The group agreed and calmly walked away from the hospital, just as the police cars drove in and began to surround the building.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Hinata asked, giving Sakura a bottle of water.
She and Shino were on standby in a 24-hour convenience store at the other side of the hospital when they spotted Sasuke walking out of the building's second back door with Sakura.
Shikamaru had told them that morning that the plan could change at the last minute and Sasuke might get out of the hospital through the second Fire Exit. Shino and Hinata had figured that another plan was in place and that it was made at the last minute since Shikamaru didn't explain the details of the second plan to anyone else.
And the conversation Sasuke, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Ino had in Sakura's room confirmed their suspicion. Sasuke also overtly mentioned a "Plan B".
Sakura nodded and shakily received the bottle of water. She had her arms wound around her chest, keeping two books close to her bosom. A blue bonnet already hid her pink locks when she and Sasuke walked out in the hospital parking lot. Hinata and Shino figured that was part of Plan B – Sasuke secretly keeping a bonnet in his pocket to cover Sakura's hair with when they step out of the hospital building.
Sasuke quickly opened the bottle and held Sakura close to his side as she drank the water.
That was one other thing that Hinata and Shino noticed when Sasuke walked out with Sakura. Sasuke and Sakura's hands were clasped together when they approached Hinata and Shino. If Sasuke wasn't that scary, they would have teased him about dating Sakura.
Sasuke took the bottle from Sakura once she was done. He seemed genuinely concerned about how she had been feeling.
"Are you sure you can walk?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura smiled and nodded. "I'm okay," she said. "It's just the rush in my blood, fading."
Sasuke wound his arm around her shoulders. "We'll walk slowly," he said, more to inform the others listening through their earpiece than to tell Sakura.
"Thank you," Sakura answered shyly, bowing at Sasuke.
Hinata smiled. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan," she said. "We're here for you."
Sakura looked tearfully at Hinata. "Thank you," she said, smiling at Hinata and Shino. "I'm sorry you're in this mess."
"We didn't just do this without knowing the repercussions," Shino said. "We're prepared for whatever happens next."
Hinata nodded. "And they can't just take you away from us," she said. "We're your family too."
Sakura bowed her head in shame.
It was her fault that they weren't told about her trip to the orphanage. It was also her fault that her friends were in trouble.
Sasuke knew what Sakura was thinking. Shisui had filled them in on the details of Sakura's trip to the orphanage.
When he and Shikamaru struck a deal with Shisui in the training grounds, Shisui told them one thing that made them create Plan B.
Sasuke remembered Shisui's playful smile after he and Shikamaru agreed to receive his help.
"Also," Shisui said, catching their attention before the stood up to leave.
Sasuke and Shikamaru stared confused at Shisui.
"Don't worry," he said, still smiling at them. "I'm not asking any more favors. I am however, going to give you some updates on what's going on. And this just might change our plans for this mission."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
Shisui leaned forward. "You didn't hear it from me," he said.
"You're not supposed to know this," Shikamaru said.
Shisui winked. "Child services have visited Sakura," he said. "They've scheduled her transfer to the orphanage."
"Transfer?!" Sasuke exclaimed. "She's a witness!"
"She's an orphan," Shisui said. "And the law says that she will be surrendered to the orphanage once Child Services confirms that there's no other relative who can take her in. Unfortunately, all her parents' friends either died in the massacre or are living and too financially challenged to accommodate another child."
Sasuke punched the grass in frustration.
Shikamaru remained silent, understanding what Shisui was saying. He didn't look like he liked it but he was mature enough to know that there was nothing he could do about it.
"Can't our clan adopt her?" Sasuke asked, sounding hopeless. "I'll ask Okaa-san to convince Otou-san—"
"That will take time and a really good reason," Shisui said. "Here's the logic you'll need to deal with here – we can't adopt every kid in the village who loses their parents. We're well off, sure, but we won't be able to provide for every orphan in the village."
Sasuke frowned at Shisui. "I'm not saying—"
Shisui raised his hand. "We'll talk about that later," he said. "Allow me to finish what I want to tell you."
Sasuke shut his mouth and nodded.
"Sakura's agreed to be transported to the orphanage under one condition," Shisui said. "That no one else in the village would know when she'll be moved out of town, not even her friends."
Sasuke looked aghast at Shisui. "You're lying," he said.
Shisui sighed. "You have to understand that she went through hell," he said. "She thinks that everyone she cares about will leave her in one way or another. And because of that, she believes that she would need to be strong. She plans to make a new life in the orphanage and her plan involves forgetting everything that would remind her of her parents."
"That's too much," Shikamaru said, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest. "She's punishing herself."
"She didn't kill her parents," Sasuke angrily said. "She almost died with them!"
"Again," Shisui calmly said. "She's traumatized. She'll be undergoing stress briefing and treatment in the orphanage too."
Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed. Shisui was right. Sakura was too distraught to think clearly.
"When are they going to do take her to the orphanage?" Shikamaru asked.
"I only have a target date," he said. "They're still making the arrangements with the ANBU so it can still change."
Shikamaru nodded and turned to Sasuke. "We need to see her before she's moved out of the hospital," he said.
Sasuke nodded staring at the green grass in deep thought.
"The ANBU will have a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the arrangements so I'll be able to tell you the exact date by tomorrow night," Shisui said.
Shikamaru looked at Sasuke. "You can just relay the date to me by phone," he said.
Sasuke nodded still staring at nowhere.
Shikamaru frowned. He knew Sasuke was thinking about something, and that something involved a change in their plan.
Shisui seemed to notice it too. He smirked at Sasuke.
After a moment of listening to the breeze and rustling leaves, Sasuke looked up at Shisui.
"What do I need to do to convince my parents to take Sakura in?" Sasuke asked.
Shisui shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he said. "I do know how Itachi convinced your parents that what he felt for Kio was serious and that keeping them away from each other would cause more harm than good."
Shikamaru stiffened. He raised his brow at Shisui, asking him if he knew Sasuke was dense about his feelings.
Shisui winked.
Sasuke frowned. "You're speaking in codes," he said.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
Shisui chuckled. "Maybe, just maybe," he began. "Your parents realize how important she is to you, they'll understand the need to keep her here. That's just my thought – I can't give you any assurance that it's the answer to your question."
Sasuke sighed and nodded. He turned to look at Shikamaru. "We need a Plan B," he said.
"Of course we do," Shikamaru nodded slowly knowing what Sasuke was planning. He looked at Shisui. "And we need your help."
"Oh I'll be more than happy to help," Shisui said.
So there they were, walking calmly in the shade of the canopy of trees in the park and headed to the training grounds to meet the others.
Sasuke glanced at Sakura who walked beside him. Her arms kept the two books close to her chest. He couldn't help but feel flattered at how much she treasured them.
Hinata walked on Sakura's other side, asking her questions about how she's spent her hours in the hospital and telling her about how the class had missed her. It was quite a sight to see, since Hinata wasn't known to talk that much.
"What else do we do in Plan B?" Shino muttered as he walked beside Sasuke.
Sasuke looked at the path they were taking. "We hadn't planned that far ahead," he whispered.
Shino nodded.
And the first problem Sasuke was sure Shikamaru would like to discuss was where they would keep Sakura.
"WHAT?!" Itachi exclaimed, holding his mobile phone against his ear.
Kio, surprised, looked worriedly at Itachi from the bench where she sat on.
It was a weekend and to make up for the times Itachi couldn't spend with her after class, he invited her out to a theme park for a date.
While eating ice cream and seated on a bench, Itachi received a phone call from the police office.
Itachi squeezed his eyes shut and released a heavy sigh. He had just received word about Sakura disappearing from the hospital. The authorities are looking at the possibility that she changed his mind about moving the orphanage. But they found Kakashi unconscious and injured in the surveillance room of the hospital so they were also looking at the possibility that Sakura was kidnapped.
If she was kidnapped, the first probable suspect was the man behind the massacre and that would mean Sakura was in great danger. Investigators were already looking at how Sakura got out of the hospital.
"I'll be there," Itachi said after hearing the facts the authorities had gathered on Sakura's disappearance. "Give me ten minutes." He then ended the call and slipped the mobile phone back in his pocket.
"What is it?" Kio asked still holding the cones of ice cream that Itachi bought for them.
"I need to go to the hospital," Itachi said, taking one of the cones from her hand. "Something happened in the confidential case I'm working on and your uncle's injured."
"WHAT?!" Kio gasped – fear and anxiety filling her face. "I—Is he alright? What happened to him?"
"He's conscious now," Itachi said, standing up and holding Kio's hand in assurance. "Want to come with me to the hospital?"
"Absolutely!" Kio said standing quickly up from her seat. "Does Rin-obachan know about this? She'll be pissed if she doesn't get informed about this."
"I don't think so," Itachi said walking with Kio out of the theme park. "Uncle Obito just received word of what happened."
"I'll call her then," Kio said fishing out her mobile phone.
"Did they feed you in the hospital?" Kiba asked looking extremely close at Sakura's face. "You look really thin."
The group met in the old training grounds and sat in a circle. Almost everyone asked Sakura how she had been treated in the hospital, what she did while she was confined, and how she was told that she was going to the orphanage.
Kiba, like Naruto, scrutinized Sakura's physique. And at that very moment, Kiba's face was inches away from Sakura's face.
Sasuke, who sat next to Sakura, glared daggers at Kiba. He wanted to push the boy away.
Couldn't he ask her about it without putting his face that close to her?
Shikamaru was sighing at the sight of Sasuke fuming because of Kiba. Why couldn't the Uchiha realize that he was as crazy about Sakura as Naruto and Kiba?
Sakura shyly smiled at Kiba. "They treat me really well in the hospital," she said "I just hadn't liked to eat that much."
"Why?" Kiba anxiously asked, leaning closer to Sakura's face. A hand pushed him back to his place in the circle.
Sakura gasped as Sasuke pushed Kiba away from her.
"We're not here to talk about that," Sasuke snapped. He turned to Shikamaru. "We need a place for Sakura."
"No problem," Naruto said also seated next to Sakura. "She can stay at my place."
"Where the Hokage can catch her?!" Ino exclaimed.
"But we can take her anywhere else," Naruto said.
"She can stay in the Uchiha compound," Sasuke interjected.
"Your compound is infested with police officers," Naruto reasoned. "It will be more difficult to hide her there. My house on the other hand only has the Hokage."
"And ANBU guards," Kiba said.
Sasuke frowned. "Not really," he muttered bitterly admitting that Naruto had a point. The Hokage didn't keep ANBU guards near the house for personal protection. The goal was for the security authorities to be effective enough to protect the Hokage and his family while they protected everyone else in the village.
"Your mother will be there though," Shikamaru said knowing that the Hokage's wife usually stayed at home on weekends for Naruto.
"We can sneak her in through my bedroom window," Naruto replied. He looked at Sasuke. "Teme's done it several times before."
"—To get my notebooks that you always forget to give back to me," Sasuke quickly interjected to make sure everyone didn't get a wrong impression about him. He wasn't really someone who liked to sneak into people's bedrooms.
"Y—you sneak into Naruto's bedroom window," Sakura whispered looking at Sasuke.
Sasuke frowned – his cheeks pink. "It's not a habit," he said. "He doesn't give back the things I let him barrow."
"I forget to give them back," Naruto corrected. "There's a difference."
"Enough," Shikamaru said taking everyone's attention.
They looked at him and Shikamaru focused on Naruto and Sasuke. "They'll think whoever kidnapped Sakura is involved in the massacre and may cause immediate danger to everyone in the village, especially to the Hokage's family," he said.
"And because of that," Naruto said. "The last location they'll think Sakura will be in is my house."
"Wow," Kiba muttered looking surprised at Naruto. "You actually have a point."
"Yeah," Chouji said before stuffing his mouth with chips.
"We should just keep her in the Uchiha compound then," Sasuke said. "That's the last thing they'll think Sakura will be with all the police in the area."
"It won't be easy to sneak Sakura into the compound though," Naruto said. "I haven't sneaked into your house without being caught."
Sakura looked surprised at Naruto.
He sneaked into Sasuke's house?
"He does that when I don't want to play outside," Sasuke muttered to Sakura while frowning at Naruto. Naruto could have at least explained why he was sneaking into Sasuke's house so Sakura didn't think they had some sort of relationship.
"And Sasuke's sneaked into your house without being caught?" Ino asked.
"Of course," Sasuke said. He was an Uchiha for goodness' sake. Uchihas excel in everything.
"Will you be able to sneak Sakura inside the compound?" Kiba asked Sasuke.
"Sure," Sasuke said trying to sound confident. He hadn't really been that successful with sneaking inside their compound. But he just couldn't let them take Sakura to Naruto's house!
Shikamaru caught the uncertainty in Sasuke's voice however. "Whose house in nearest from this place?" he asked to resolve the problem.
Sasuke frowned.
Naruto smiled widely. "My house!" he exclaimed.
"It's settled then," Shikamaru said. "We'll sneak Sakura into Naruto's house."
"How will we do it with Naruto's mother in the house?" Ino asked.
"I'll sneak Sakura into Naruto's room," Sasuke answered. "You all enter the house through the front door." He turned to Naruto. "You'll go in first and open the window to your room. Then you meet everyone else in the front door and tell Oba-chan you're having friends over for a project."
Shikamaru nodded. "You okay with that, Naruto?" he asked looking at Naruto.
"Can't I sneak Sakura-chan into my room?" Naruto asked. "I've climbed my window a lot too."
"It will be too suspicious," Sasuke said. "You'll most likely get caught and Oba-chan will wonder why you sneaked up to your room when you asked permission to go outside with us."
Naruto frowned. "I won't get caught!"
"Are there other available places to hide Sakura in?" Shikamaru asked.
Sakura looked at Shikamaru. "My family's apartment unit," she quietly answered.
"The ANBU is already checking all the possible escape routes from the hospital," Fugaku said talking to Minato in the Hokage's office.
The news about Sakura's disappearance and possible kidnapping reached Fugaku's office the minute Kotetsu requested for reinforcements.
"Do you have any leads?" Minato asked.
"Not yet," Fugaku answered. "But the first ones in the scene said there was no sign of a struggle in the hospital room. She went with the culprit in her own accord."
"She knows him then," Minato said.
Fugaku nodded. "That's what we fear," he said. "Either she trusted the kidnapper or she was scared of the kidnapper. I just received word that Itachi's headed to the hospital as we speak. We should get more details about what happened soon."
Minato nodded.
"Would you like to station ANBU guards in your house?" Fugaku asked. "Just for safety purposes."
Minato took a deep breath. "I'll have to brief Kushina about it first," he said. "And you know how she gets when she's informed about these things. She wasn't called the red witch of Konoha for nothing."
Fugaku nodded. "I should probably warn Mikoto about it too," she said.
The two men looked at each other.
"Then we'll have two enraged witches in our hands," Minato said, smirking at Fugaku.
Fugaku gave a heavy sigh in reply.
"—KNOWN BETTER!" Kio and Itachi heard Rin's voice echo in the hospital hallway.
They reached the hospital in time to see Kakashi receiving an earful from Rin in the emergency ward. The police were everywhere – asking questions to doctors and patients, and inspecting rooms and fire exits.
"Oji-chan," Kio greeted as she approached the bed where Kakashi sat on. Rin sat next to him, inspecting the red-patched gauze on the side of his head. His police uniform had specks of blood, no doubt from the head wound that Itachi told Kio about while they were on their way to the hospital.
"I'm okay," Kakashi said, looking glumly at Kio. He looked at Itachi and nodded a 'thank you'.
"I heard they've already asked you about what happened," Itachi said.
"I have," Kakashi said. "But I'll tell you anyway since I'm not sure how accurate those rookies are when it comes to taking note of a witness statement. Kotetsu, Hagane and I arrived to execute orders. I let Kotetsu and Hagane proceed with checking the target while I check the surveillance cameras for anything suspicious that happened in the past evening since no one else stayed in the hospital room with the target."
Kio remembered seeing Itachi walking into the hospital with a bouquet of flowers, and looked surprised at her boyfriend.
He really was working at that time, wasn't he?
Itachi wore his professional face and kept his eyes at Kakashi. Kio learned that it was a police thing at an early age. A lot of kids thought Kakashi was scary because he rarely looked happy and he always hid half of his face. But when he wasn't acting in the line of duty, he was quite fun to be with.
Itachi was the same – he rarely smiled when he talked about matters related to police work and at times even in his academics. But he was sweet and caring once he wasn't faced with professional matters.
"When I walked into the surveillance room," Kakashi continued. "It was empty. I walked further inside and carefully if I might add—"
"Apparently not carefully enough," Rin muttered.
Kakashi sighed. "The next thing I remember was being hit at the side of my head, falling on chairs, hitting what I assumed was the concrete wall, and dropping flat on the floor. I was about to stand when I felt someone choke me by the neck. It all went black after that."
Rin gasped. "You didn't tell me you were choked to death!"
"I didn't die," Kakashi exasperatedly said.
"That doesn't mean you weren't choked to death!" Rin argued.
Kio smirked. Technically, her uncle was right. But seeing Kakashi receiving an earful was entertaining so why defend him?
Itachi nodded mentally noting the facts Kakashi gave him. "The thing that hit your head," he prompted.
"Hard," Kakashi said. "Like a stick."
"And it hit you…" Itachi said.
"Judging by the location of my concussion, I'd say whoever held the stick was around my height," Kakashi replied.
Itachi sighed. "This complicates things," he said. "And now the surveillance videos are clean, yes?"
"The tapes they recovered in the room are blank, yes," Kakashi said.
"I'll go check the patient's room," Itachi said, meaning he would leave the three to talk as a family.
Rin and Kio nodded.
Itachi bowed and walked out of the ward set on examining Sakura's room. The hospital's surveillance room shouldn't have been empty. Sure, they no longer stationed ANBU operatives in the room. But the hospital should have security stationed in the room – at least that was his expectation. He'd have to check with the other investigators if they had checked where the people in-charge of the surveillance room was at the time that the "kidnapping" was committed.
Itachi took the elevator and examined its ceiling for a camera.
The surveillance room could have recorded footages from the elevator. If Sakura disappeared just as Kakashi and his team reached the hospital and they didn't find any trace of Sakura by the time they learned she disappeared it, then it was possible that Sakura and her captor used the elevator.
But all the recordings were missing so there was no way they could clearly confirm any theory about what happened.
It was, after all, also possible that Sakura and her captor were already at the basement floor of the building when Kakashi and his team arrived – hence the injury Kakashi received. Her captor must have kept her somewhere close or even inside the surveillance room, waited for Kakashi to come in, put Kakashi to sleep, cleaned after himself, and walked out of the hospital with Sakura.
The door to Sakura's room already had a yellow police tape. Police operatives were guarding the hall and investigators were walking out of the room.
"Uchiha-san," greeted an investigator holding a camera.
"You've checked the room?" Itachi asked.
"Yes," the investigator answered. "There was no sign of struggle."
Itachi nodded. "She knew her captor," he muttered.
"We thought about that too," the investigator said. "We're also thinking of checking the remaining friends of the Haruno family to see if any of them could have done this."
Itachi nodded. "Give me a copy of whatever you come up with," he said, though he doubted any of the remaining friends of the Haruno family could have done it. The people they've identified as close family friends of Sakura's parents were average people – shop owners, library attendants, housewives… None of them seemed capable of sneaking into a secured facility, expertly lie to authorities, incapacitate ANBU operatives, and walk out of the hospital like nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Thinking about it again, what time were the ANBU guards dismissed and what time was Hagane incapacitated? At the time, Sakura's captor could be on his way to get her. What time was Kakashi attacked in the surveillance room?
Itachi bit his lip. There was a second captor?
He walked into Sakura's room and examined the arrangement of the bed, the curtains, the table, and the flowers that he brought Sakura in his last visit.
They were all in place. The investigator was right – there was no sign of a struggle. Sakura walked outside in her own accord. Could she have known about the kidnapping? She did ask that no one else accompany her the night before.
NO. Sakura couldn't have known. She looked really hurt about leaving her friends for good – so upset that she wanted to act strong and just forget them all to get rid of the pain she was feeling.
Itachi sighed, thinking hard about how Sakura disappeared. The window was open, but there was no sign that it was used to get in or out of the room. And the room was at the top floor. If the captor used it in some way, someone from the immediate vicinity would have noticed someone or something hanging from the window.
He turned around to walk out the door when he noticed the side table.
It wasn't out of place but something seemed different about it. What could it be?
Itachi walked closer to the side table and imagined his last visit to Sakura. The vase with the flower… Sakura on the bed with the blanket… him sitting on a chair next to the bed…
Sakura took the book and handed it to Itachi. "Before I leave," she said.
Itachi froze. "Sasuke," he said. Sakura was going to return the books to Sasuke. Itachi sprinted out of the room, fishing his mobile phone from his pocket.
"Ita-kun," Mikoto greeted from the other line.
"Is Sasuke there?" Itachi asked jumping into the elevator and forcefully hitting the button for the ground floor.
"No," Mikoto answered. "He and his friends went out to work on a project for a contest."
"Contest?" Itachi asked confused as the elevator went down to the ground floor. "What contest?"
"The one by the manga your brother's addicted to lately," Mikoto answered. "Menma?"
"W—What kind of project are they doing?" Itachi asked. "Where did he say they were going to make it?"
"Naruto said they'll shoot a film about saving a friend," Mikoto answered. "They said they'll be in the playground. Is something wrong?"
"Playground, got it," Itachi muttered. "No — there's nothing wrong. Thank—"
A film about saving a friend?
"Itachi?" Mikoto asked, anxious at her son's sudden silence.
"Thank you," Itachi said. "We'll be home for lunch. Can you not tell Otou-san that I called?"
"—If you promise to tell me what's going on by lunch," Mikoto said.
"I promise," Itachi answered walking out of the elevator and into the hallway. "Bye, Okaa-san," he said ending the call. He slipped his mobile phone back into his pocket and released a heavy sigh.
Why did he suddenly have a feeling that his brother had something to do with Sakura's kidnapping?
"TADAIMA!" Kushina heard Naruto yell from the front door.
She was washing the dishes when she heard loud clinks from their front gate. Minato always unlocked the gate in a calm and proper manner. Their son Naruto on the other hand always slammed it, saying he liked the sound of the metal clicking like a chime.
Kushina smiled and dried her hands. She then heard a loud rustle in the bushes at the side of the house. She quickly peaked out the window to see if there were any intruders.
But she only saw a cat sprint away from the bushes.
Kushina shrugged her shoulders and walked to the living room to welcome her son who was at that moment giddily taking off his shoes. "Okaeri," she said. "How was your project?"
"Great!" Naruto said stomping on the wooden floor and heading toward the stairs. "We need another location for the shoot. Can we shoot a scene in my room? We won't say it was shot in the house!"
Kushina smirked and sighed. "You should've asked your Otou-san permission for that last night."
"It was a last minute thing," Naruto explained. "There were changes with the situation so we had to change the script and find a new location. And we need to finish this by tonight so we can submit it to the contest on time."
Kushina rolled her eyes. Naruto was hell-bent on winning that Menma contest. And for what? A box of manga volumes that he already had? A poster? "Fine," she said. "How many of your friends will be here?"
"Eight," Naruto answered.
"Eight..?" Kushina asked crossing her arms over her chest. "So that's I suppose Sasuke, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru..?"
"Shino, Ino and Hinata," Naruto answered.
"Hm," Kushina said, frowning. "That's just seven, dear."
"O—oh," Naruto said, scratching his head. He was also counting Sakura in his thoughts. "You're asking because you're going to make snacks, right?"
"Yes," Kushina answered.
"Chouji eats a lot so I said eight to make sure there's extra food for him," Naruto said, smiling brightly at his mother.
Kushina laughed. "You silly boy," he said. "Chouji's been here several times. Of course I'll know I have to prepare extra food for him."
Naruto scratched his head. "—Just making sure, I guess," he said chuckling.
"Alright," she said. "I'll just finish washing the dishes. Then I'll start making snacks."
"Thanks, Okaa-san!" Naruto said, raising his arms to hug her. But before he could sprint to his mother, he remembered what Sasuke told him before he went inside their house.
"Don't hug her," Sasuke sternly said. "You tend to be extra happy and sweet when you're lying. If you want us to successfully do this, do not hug your mother."
"I—I'll go clean up my room now," Naruto said. "They should be here soon."
"Okay," Kushina said. "I'll be in the kitchen."
Naruto smiled and sprinted up the stairs to his room.
Sasuke and Sakura heard something slide on the second floor of the Hokage's house. And sure enough the window above them opened revealing Naruto, waving a hand at them to climb up.
Sakura swallowed.
She and Sasuke had been standing on the side of the house since Naruto walked into the gate. It was funny and embarrassing, really.
Apparently, there was a narrow alley beside Naruto's house that had been covered by old trees and age-old stone fences. Sasuke and Naruto discovered the space when they were toddlers. And Naruto had been sneaking up to his room through the space ever since.
While Naruto walked to his house with Shikamaru and the others, Sasuke led Sakura to the narrow alley that could be accessed a block away from the house – a long rope looped across his chest that they got from the Aburame garden tool shed. The entrance was blocked by wood boards – obviously to keep people from walking in. Sasuke was able to move one board at an angle and squeeze their selves into the entrance.
The alley was also small enough for only one person to go through at a time. So Sasuke held Sakura's hand as he led the way to the spot in the alley that was next to Naruto's house.
Sakura could still feel the warm grip of his hand on her own. Well, Sasuke was still holding her hand as they crouched at the side of the house.
Upon reaching the spot, Sakura noticed grooves on the alley's stone walls. Sasuke used the groves to climb up the wall to the Namikaze residence's concrete fence. Once at the top of the stone wall, he reached down and helped Sakura climb the wall. He practically lifted her up when she reached half of the wall and she ended up gasping in his arms.
Then he climbed down and told her to jump into his arms. She did and she fell on top of him instead, scaring a cat that apparently had been taking refuge in the bushes that Naruto's mother planted to put color on their fence.
After recovering from the incident, the two of them sat crouched in the bushes. They froze when Naruto's mother peeked out the window. They released a sigh of relief after Namikaze-san walked away from the window.
Then Naruto opened the window and waved at them.
"This is it," Sasuke said, standing up from the bushes.
Sakura took a deep breath. She wasn't sure how she would climb up the wall even with the rope. She still felt weak and her limbs were starting to sting.
Sasuke grabbed a rock and tied it at the end of the rope. He fished out the slingshot Naruto gave him before they went their separate ways to the Namikaze residence and aimed the rock at the open window.
Sakura swallowed and watched Sasuke take a deep breath. He looked so… different… so—
The doorbell from outside the gate rang once. And on the second time it rang, Sasuke released the sling throwing the rock into the window. The rope was pulled up from the window. A moment later, Naruto looked down waving thumbs up at them.
Sasuke looked at Sakura. "Come closer," he whispered.
"NARUTO! YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!" Kushina's voice echoed from the house, making Sakura wince.
"I'M COMING!" Naruto's voice echoed in reply.
Sasuke smirked at Sakura's rigid stance. She wasn't used to hearing Kushina and Naruto's usual form of communication after all.
Sakura felt Sasuke's hands on hers and opened her eyes. He pulled her closer and bent his knee and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hold on to me," he whispered.
Sakura realized what Sasuke was planning and panicked. "N—No! I—I'm heavy!"
"Hush!" Sasuke hissed. "She'll hear you."
Sakura quickly bit her lips.
Sasuke wound the rope around their waists and lifted her legs up to his side just as he stood up from the ground.
Sakura winced.
"Does it hurt?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura shook her head.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "I can't hold you while climbing up the rope," he said. "So don't let go."
Sakura nodded.
Sasuke let her legs go, making Sakura clenched her legs tight against his waist. He then tugged the rope twice to check if it was secure. Once he was sure it was safe to climb, he climbed up the rope.
He wasn't scared. Uchihas were never scared. And he had climbed up the wall several times before. As for the extra weight on his back, he also trained at climbing walls with heavy bean bags on his back because Shisui said he might need the skill.
But he had to admit his heart was pounding against his chest. And he could feel Sakura's frantic heartbeat on his back… And her soft, warm cheek against his own..
The rope suddenly gave way to Sasuke's pull for a moment causing Sasuke's foot to slip against the wall and Sakura to gasp in panic. He quickly pushed his foot back on the wall and winced.
"Did you hear something?" Kushina's voice echoed from the house.
"No," Naruto and their friends replied in unison.
"Hmm," Kushina said, her footsteps echoing from the window. "I could swear I heard something gasp," she said looking out the kitchen window again.
Sakura buried her lips on Sasuke's shoulder.
Sasuke pulled the rope harder. Hopefully Naruto tied the rope on a secure hook. Where did he tie the rope?
Sasuke slowly glanced down the kitchen window which he was already a foot below them. The other end of the rope dangled beside the window.
You don't see the rope. You don't see the rope. You don't see the rope.
"Namikaze-san," Shikamaru called, no doubt trying to distract Naruto's mother. "I heard you make really good dumplings."
Kushina excitedly gasped and turned away from the window. "Oh I do!" she said. "I do! Would you like me to make some for you?"
Sasuke released a sigh of relief. Kushina wasn't really that good at cooking. Minato was way better at her in the kitchen. So hearing compliments about her cooking always made her too excited to stick to her train of thought.
"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered.
"Don't be," Sasuke whispered back. "Just hold on to me." He then climbed up the rope again, faster this time so they could get rid of the rope and keep Kushina from seeing them.
It didn't take Sasuke that long to reach the window. He soon got hold of the window ledge and smiled. "Grab the ledge," he breathlessly whispered. It was only then that he realized how much sweaty his forehead had become since the trek.
Sakura shakily grabbed the ledge with all her remaining strength.
Sasuke pulled himself up more and pulled himself up into the window with Sakura's help. Then the rope Sasuke was pulling gave way again, causing his foot to slip once more. It was accompanied by a loud grunt from something inside the room.
Sakura gasped in panic too but this time, she pulled the ledge harder to keep them on the window.
Sasuke mustered all the strength he had left to hurl them over the ledge. They ended up tumbling down on a soft cushion in a loud thud.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Kushina's voice echoed from the kitchen again.
Sasuke cursed, ignoring how Sakura flat lay on his back. He quickly fumbled on the knot securing the rope around their waist.
"DID YOU OPEN YOUR WINDOW?!" Kushina asked.
"NO," Naruto answered. "Why would I? I'm not there…"
"ARE YOU SURE?"
Sakura fell on her back, bouncing on the cushion, as Sasuke rose to his knees. He looked out the window and saw Kushina looking out the kitchen window again. This time, she took her time and looked around the backyard.
Sasuke turned around to check where Naruto tied the other end of the rope.
"What the—" he hissed, staring shocked at the rope tied at the headboard of the bed.
No wonder the rope gave way several times.
They froze as footsteps echoed from the stairs.
Sasuke got up and pulled Sakura to Naruto's closet. He and Naruto had played hide and seek with their parents before using the closet so he pretty much knew what was inside it.
"There's nothing there!" Naruto's voice echoed from the stairs, no doubt anxiously following his mother in an attempt to stop her in her tracks.
"But I heard something!" Kushina replied.
Sasuke slid the closet door to reveal two spacious shelves that held neatly folded clothes. He quickly re-arranged the stack of clothes to make room for them. Several footsteps were echoing from the hallway by the time Sasuke slammed the closet door shut behind him – Sakura securely curled against his chest inside the closet.
They heard the bedroom door slam open and Sasuke felt Sakura tighten her hold on his shirt. Sasuke gave an assuring squeeze in return, though he felt their heartbeats racing against their chests.
"NAMIKAZE NARUTO!" Kushina yelled.
"I KNOW! I KNOW!" Naruto said, walking into the room – the bed creaking. "I'll clean my room."
"YOU BETTER! Pick that blanket up right now!" Kushina said. "I just washed that yesterday."
"I'm picking it up now," Naruto replied, followed by the sound of shuffling.
Sasuke glanced and Sakura. She nodded in response.
While Sasuke was preparing the closet, Sakura quickly covered the rope with the blanket on Naruto's bed.
"And you said you didn't leave your window open!"
"I forgot, I'm sorry," Naruto replied.
"Are you sure nothing got in here?" Kushina asked – footsteps echoing on the floor. She was walking around.
Sasuke swallowed as a tall shadow loomed over the closet door.
"Aren't you going to make us dumplings?" Naruto asked. "Don't you have to start making them now to have them cooking in time for lunch?"
"Oh right! I'll head back to the kitchen then," Kushina said, walking away from the closet.
Sakura sighed in relief.
"But if you see something off—" Kushina continued.
"I'll scream," Naruto said. "I got it, Okaa-san."
"Okay," Kushina replied as she walked to the door. "I'm sorry kids. Go on in. I'll just bring you your snacks."
"Thank you, Namikaze-san," Shikamaru and the other replied from the hallway.
Sasuke heard more footsteps from the room, followed by a thump on the bedroom door. He slowly pushed the closet door open and revealed Naruto and the others with their anxious and surprised faces.
"Are you two okay?" Naruto asked, crouching in front of the closet.
"Are you going to let us out of here?" Sasuke replied.
Shikamaru tapped Naruto's shoulder. "He said 'step away,'" he explained. "He and Sakura are crawling out."
"Oh," Naruto said crawling away from the closet. "Why didn't you just say so?"
Kushina took a deep breath, slowly walking down the stairs in thought. She could swear she heard something moving from the backyard and up in Naruto's room.
She walked to the kitchen window again and inspected the bushes.
Maybe there was just another cat out there..?
A loud ringing sound snapped Kushina out of her thoughts. She rushed to the gate and opened it revealing a sweaty and heavily breathing Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun," she greeted, surprised.
"O—Ohayo, Oba-chan," Sasuke greeted.
Kushina raised her brow and let Sasuke into the house. "What happened to you?" she asked leading him to the living room. "You look like you climbed up a mountain and ran to the house," she teased.
"Oh uh… I ran an errand for the project," Sasuke said, inwardly thinking of replying something along the lines of "I climbed up to Naruto's room and jumped down to walk into the front door". "Are they here?" he asked.
"Yes, they're upstairs," Kushina answered, smiling at him. "Go grab one of Naruto's clothes. You'll catch a cold if you don't change your shirt."
Sasuke nodded. That was one other thing he and Naruto were raised to be used to – sharing clothes. Sasuke's mother lent Sasuke's clothes to Naruto, just as Naruto's mother lent Naruto's clothes to Sasuke.
—Weird.
"I will," Sasuke said walking up the stairs. "Thank you, Oba-chan."
"No worries," Kushina said, smiling warmly at him. "I'll prepare dumplings for you and your friends. Would you like me to make you tomato dumplings?"
"Yes please!" Sasuke excitedly answered.
Anything with the fruit just perked up his senses.
Kushina chuckled. "Alright then," she said. "Go change your clothes, dear."
Sasuke excitedly sprinted up the stairs.
Kushina smiled and shook her head. Sasuke looked so cute whenever he heard the word "tomato". The kid usually tried to look old and mighty like his father. Minato said it was because Uchihas were raised to be strong village entities – pillars of Konoha that live to defend its people.
Minato didn't like it though. He preferred that the Uchihas live like other Konoha villagers – free to serve and be served. That was why he offered each Uchiha clan member the opportunity to choose their profession, unlike in the earlier times when their clan leaders always pushed all of them to be members of the army.
The opportunity allowed the existence of doctors and teachers in the Uchiha clan. They still worked close to the military though – the doctors specializing in military medicine and the teachers educating military school students. Hey, at least they weren't all just soldiers and policemen!
A ringing sound echoed in the kitchen and once again pulled Kushina away from her thoughts. She quickly walked to the wall phone to answer the call.
"Moshi-mo—"
"Haruno Sakura is missing," Minato said from the other line. "From the evidence they've gathered, whoever was involved in the massacre could be the culprit. I've sent ANBU guards to guard the house. Are they there?"
"No," Kushina answered, suddenly anxious. "But I heard something rustle in the backyard and—" A horrible thought struck Kushina. What if the rustling sounds weren't done by a cat, but by a man – a very dangerous man hiding Haruno Sakura!
"Kushina?" Minato called. "Kushina! You're scaring me! What's going on?"
"I have to check on something," Kushina said before slamming the receiver.
Minato winced at the deafening sound of the phone being slammed hard. Kushina was panicking. That meant she saw something that might endanger Naruto.
"I'm going home," Minato said, turning to look at Fugaku. "She's panicking. I think she saw something."
They were still in the office waiting for more information on the kidnapping when they received a report saying that the culprit was possibly involved in the massacre. Minato ordered the security around the village to be discreetly on red alert. There was no use panicking the entire population.
But they had to tell the parents to watch out for their children. And the best way to do so was inform the adults of what happened and what had to be done. It included calling their wives of course.
"I'm getting the same response from Mikoto," Fugaku said. "She said our sons are out to make some project."
"Let's get this sorted out then," Minato said. "Call me if anything happens."
Fugaku nodded.
Kushina carefully walked up the stairs, making sure no one in Naruto's room noticed her approaching.
If she was right, then the man was hiding somewhere in Naruto's room – probably in his closet.
Laughter echoed from Naruto's room – sounds of banters and chatter… There was no way that evil man was going to hurt those kids! Not when Namikaze Kushina was around.
Kushina expertly flipped the knife in her hand. It had been a while since she engaged in knife combat but if killing someone was what it took to keep her little ones safe, she would do it!
She hid the knife behind her back, stood in front of Naruto's bedroom and took a deep breath.
"I think you should take me back," Sakura whispered, sitting on Naruto's bed beside Sasuke.
Kiba and Naruto were busy arguing about why Sakura should sleep in their own houses, and the others were too entertained at the senseless reasons they were dropping on the table to notice that Sakura was feeling upset.
"To the hospital..?" Sasuke whispered back.
Sakura shyly nodded, holding the books that Ino offered to carry for her while Sasuke sneaked her up the window of Naruto's bedroom.
"But they'll take you to the orphanage," Sasuke said.
"You're not the ones who'll decide if I can stay in your house or not," Sakura said. "Your parents are. And having me in your house means having another mouth to feed…"
"So?" Sasuke asked. "My family isn't poor, Sakura."
Sakura froze – blood rushing to paint her cheeks a deep shade of scarlet. Did Uchiha Sasuke just offer his home to her?
When they started the conversation about where to permanently hide Sakura, only Kiba and Naruto raised their hands begging that Sakura stay in their house—hence the loud arguments in the room about the benefits of living and not living with dogs.
So to hear Sasuke saying their family wasn't poor—
"Otou-san grants scholarships to students," Sasuke said. From what Itachi told him, Hatake Kakashi was one of the students who received their father's aid. "That means he has enough money to support you."
Sakura looked surprised at Sasuke. "Wo—Wouldn't that be too much?" she asked. "Your Otou-san doesn't know me." Well…she knew Sasuke's mother…
"I'll introduce you to him," Sasuke said. "I'm sure he'll like you."
The bedroom door suddenly slammed open, making Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, and Ino to shriek in surprise. Everyone else in the room froze.
Kushina's eyes went wide at the sight of the children in the room – each face she recalled she had welcomed just minutes ago except for one.
"Haruno Sakura?!"
