It was with a wary air that Sasuke entered the police station. Next to him Sakura was a bundle of nerves, sifting from foot to foot and constantly patting her pocket to check that the money was still there. The fiasco at the teen shelter had landed Naruto in Juvie, not for the first time. Some passer by Good Samaritan had called the cops, and they didn't particularly favor the blonde orphan. The guys in blue took pleasure in putting the boy behind bars, actually, and every time it happened the price for his release went up.
Sakura had freaked out when Naruto had gotten dragged off, and had demanded that the whole shelter pitch in for his release money. Even Iruka, the owner, had pulled some money out for Sakura's pleading green eyes. Everything together had topped out at fifty-seven dollars short.
And when Sasuke had shown up at the shelter door, panting and dirty, with a hundred and twenty clutched to his chest, Sakura hadn't asked where he'd gotten it. Sasuke said nothing of the person he'd lifted it from, either, less he mix home with the street. It's not like Kabuto would miss it anyway, though he liked the idea of the look on his face when he realized his several hundred in pocket change was missing.
"Can I help you?" Some woman asked them kindly.
"We're here to pay for a Juvie release." Sakura told her, smoothing down the front of her skirt and checking the pocket with the money at the same time. They'd done this a couple of times now, and knew to clean up as best they could before hand. Things went smoother that way.
"Alright," The woman said, sitting behind a desk. "Name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke told her in a clipped tone, making sure to drop his street slur. Sakura had done it too, it was no secret that neither had been born to the streets like Naruto had. And while it was an effort, Sakura could drop the accent just as readily as Sasuke could.
"Money?" Sakura pulled out the carefully smoothed wad of bills, consisting of mostly ones and fives, and handed it to the woman. The woman took it and counted it carefully, before checking the amount listed and counting a second time. Sasuke felt Sakura tense next to him in worry, but the woman smiled and stuffed the money into an envelope, marking it 'Uzumaki.'
"Well, all seems to be in order. You can go next door and give them this to release your friend." Sakura took the slip of paper with a smile and they turned to leave.
On the way out the door Sasuke kept his eyes resolutely forward, and managed not to glance up at the cop entering the station. The cop in question stopped just past the threshold, ignoring the teen in his grasp, and looked back over the top of his glasses. The man then smiled.
"Oi! What the hell took you so long?" Naruto demanded as they walked away from the Juvie hold. "And where the hell did you go? One second you're behind me, the next the cops are there and you're gone!"
"It cost more this time, Naruto. We almost didn't get enough." Sakura glanced sideways at Sasuke, but didn't elaborate. Naruto deflated, angry look melting off his face.
"You need to stop doing stupid stunts. You are going to get yourself in some serious trouble, and Sakura won't be able to bail you out." Naruto turned to look at him with a frown, and for a moment Sasuke wasn't sure why. Then he realized he had forgotten to drop back into his street accent. Sasuke just clammed up, and didn't explain. Naruto eyed them suspiciously, but decided to let it go.
"How much more?" He asked instead with a somber tone.
"We almost didn't get enough." Sakura repeated in an equally somber voice. They fell silent as they continued walking. Eventually Naruto looked around him curiously, before turning right around and walking backwards.
"Hey, where are we going?"
"Back to the shelter." Sakura replied crisply.
"What? Why? They're the reason I was in there in the first place!"
"First of all," Sakura started angrily. "It wasn't anyone in the shelter that called the cops. Second, without their help we would never have gotten enough money to bail you out. And thirdly," She continued, voice softening. "I like it there. I'm sure you will too, if you give it a chance. Both of you." Sasuke wasn't surprised, not really, but that didn't mean he knew what to do about it. He knew he would never be able to stay there.
Naruto followed the girl as she introduced them to the members of the shelter, only complaining a couple of times, and actually hit it off with a few of the other teens. Sasuke pulled himself off to the side and watched. He felt – sad, watching Sakura and Naruto fit right in here. Sad because he knew he would not stay, or even come back at all. Sad because it had finally happened; his two lives had crossed.
"You three are quite the odd group, you know that? Not that that's unusual here, you're just a bit stranger than I'm used to. But I'm sure you'll all fit in quite well." Sasuke didn't turn to look at Iruka, keeping his eyes instead on the group in front of him. Naruto had gotten into a heated argument with someone, but the dark-haired teen could tell he was having fun. Finally, he turned.
"I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused you." Sasuke said quietly, bowing. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of crumpled hundred dollar bills. Shoving it into a shocked Iruka's hands, Sasuke turned to leave.
"You're not staying?"
"I don't belong here." Was all the reply Sasuke deemed to give. He didn't make it halfway down the block before Naruto caught up with him.
"Hey! Are you running off again? The hell, you just got back!" Sasuke stopped.
"I'm not staying, Naruto." Sasuke told him without turning around. He knew that he'd have to hurt the blonde to get him to back off. Once, when he'd been gone for over a month, he'd come back to find Naruto searching for him everywhere and getting himself into all sorts of trouble. That couldn't happen again.
"Why not? Sakura says she likes it, so we stay." Sasuke turned halfway and looked over his shoulder.
"I don't belong here Naruto." He said, dropping his street accent. "I'm not like you. I'm not a street kid. I'm going home." As he talked Sasuke made sure to let the lit of an educated speaker enter his voice, changing his posture from a lazy slump into the strait-backed, proud stance of someone of the upper circles of society. Naruto, being sensitive to such things, caught on immediately. And he was furious.
"You come out here, get Sakura to trust you, and then just bail? You mother fucking bastard. Gonna run home where it's all nice and warm and you got a real bed? Fucker! " Naruto threw a right hook, but Sasuke didn't let it come close to connecting. Go for his pride too, beat him down fast and hard. He'll hurt even worse. Sasuke calculated mentally, even as he made a show of being better than Naruto. It helped that the blonde was mad and unable to focus, though that had been a risk. With Naruto, anger was sometimes a focus and not a distraction.
Pivoting sharply and lashing out with a foot, Sasuke made sure to hit the right spot to cause the most physical pain. I would seem like his kick was stronger that way. When Naruto staggered upward for the second time, Sasuke decided to go strait for the win. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a knife, flicking it open with casual familiarity. He surged forward before the blonde could react.
"Even you, Naruto, must know better than to fight an armed opponent bare handed." Sasuke whispered into his ear, dragging the edge of his blade lightly across the skin of Naruto's neck. Then, in a split second decision, Sasuke wrapped his forearm around Naruto's neck, pulling it tight to the point that he couldn't breathe. Strangulation was one of the top five most helpless experiences. And even as he considered that he might be going just a little bit too far, Sasuke knew that for Naruto, it was necessary.
Nothing short of this would convince Naruto not to come after him. And he really couldn't have that; the whole point was to disassociate himself from these that he'd gotten attached to. Because Kabuto had seen him with Sakura, and by now Orochimaru would know. And there was no way in hell he was letting him use Sakura and Naruto against him.
No way in Hell.
As Naruto slumped, unconscious, in his grasp Sasuke lowered him gently to the ground, checking his breathing and life signs. He would be okay. Naruto would live, and he wouldn't look for Sasuke, and he'd be okay. Standing, Sasuke looked down at the dirty figure sprawled out on the alley floor.
"Watch your back, Naruto."