Summary: AU Pickpocketing and stealing are the only things Naruto knows to survive in the busy streets of Konoha. But what happens when she stole a wallet from the wrong guy, namely Uchiha Sasuke? What does fate have in stored for these two? SasuFemNaru

Pairings: SasuFemNaru, LeeSaku

Warnings: Language, Sexual terms, Violence

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Thieving Gets You Nowhere
by Aesura

Sick Little Kitsune

Covering her mouth as another hacking cough erupted from her lungs, Naruto stumbled down the crowded sidewalk. Her feverish eyes began to burn and she rubbed them with the sleeve of her orange jacket, struggling not to fall as she swayed to the left. As she leaned into something, she felt rough hands shove her away and heard a disgusted voice telling her to watch where she was going. Closing her eyes momentarily, she regained her balance and began her trek down the block once more, ignoring the prickling feeling in her skin. It felt as though tiny needles were simultaneously digging their way into her flesh.

Even with the sun glaring down upon her back, shivers still raced through her body. And while those around her were shedding their jackets in the warm September weather, Naruto wrapped her jacket around her even tighter and wished she had been able to find a pair of pants instead of the shorts she wore. Her head lowered and nearly buried in the collar of her jacket, she wished she could just curl up in her bed and try to sleep. But, given the fact that she had been unable to find a victim that met her standards since a few nights before and the fact that she had splurged this morning when she bought that cup of coffee from the gas station, she really needed to grab at least one wallet today.

Lifting her head, she spotted a suitable victim. The man wore a pinstriped blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and carried his designer jacket on his left arm. On his right wrist, Naruto spotted a gleaming gold watch that signified, in her mind, that he would be able to spare a little cash. Casually strolling up to him, she carefully reached into his back pocket and pulled out the leather wallet only to sneeze right as she was placing it into her own pocket. The man turned, giving her a disgusted sneer that turned to an enraged scowl as he eyed his wallet still in her hand.

"Shit," Naruto muttered quickly before taking a deep breath in her aching lungs and began to run down the street. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the man was quickly gaining on her and she silently cursed the illness that had caused her to become so weak. Her legs ached more with each stride and her stomach began to churn, nearly causing her to stop and vomit right then. But, choking down on the bile rising in her throat, she forced herself to go on.

She turned to the left and stopped suddenly, blinking when she realized that this was the same alley where she had escaped the black haired man only a few nights before. Gasping for air, she turned to see her most recent victim confidently striding up the alley, throwing his jacket to the side where it landed atop a few wooden crates. Naruto slowly backed up to the end of the alley, clutching her violently churning stomach while she silently calculated her best course of action. One look at this man's face told her that any lies she could come up with would be proved useless.

Finding her back pressed against the back fence, she began to slide across to the dumpster, planning on escaping like she had earlier. Just as she was about to jump, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her and caused her to fall back against the fence and sink to the ground, her eyes clenched shut.

"Well, well," the man began, his slick voice seeming to drip oil as he spoke. "Looks like you've no where to go, bitch." He continued to steadily approach her, his bright green eyes narrowing as he watched her squirm under his gaze. Naruto flinched at what he called her, the word bringing back unpleasant memories.

She reached into the pocket where she had stuffed his wallet and shakily held out her hand to give it back to him. "Please don't turn me into the cops, mister," she pleaded, her head and stomach ganging up on her and causing her vision to swim. When she realized he wasn't going to take his wallet back, she scooted over to where she was in the narrow space between the dumpster and the fence.

Eyeing her, the man licked his lips and casually pushed her hand holding the wallet away from him. "Since you're so intent on getting my money, perhaps you should do something to earn it," he said lecherously, beginning to unbuckle his belt. "And then I won't turn you into the cops."

Her eyes widening in shock and fear, Naruto lurched to her feet and frantically began trying to climb atop the dumpster. Hundreds of thoughts flew through her head, most of them involving her being raped in broad daylight in this crowded city and no one coming to save her. Just like before…

After all, she was only a street rat, vermin, worthless, …monster.. like she had been told her whole life. And even if the man killed her after he had his way with her, no one would care. It would only be one less person in this already overcrowded metropolis.

In slow motion it seemed, Naruto watched in terror as her attacker reached into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade and aimed it at her. Her blue eyes widened in fear. 'No, NO! I don't want to die!'

A hand grasped her calf just as she reached the top of the dumpster and dragged her back down to the ground. A scream pierced the air and she looked around in shock, only realizing it was her own scream when her victim-turned-assailant clamped his hand down over her mouth.

"Now, listen, bitch," he spat at her, his hand on her mouth pushing down so hard that her teeth cut into her lips. "We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. Your choice."

Her cerulean eyes wide with fright darted around the alley, looking for anything to help her. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she was silently telling herself to just kick his ass. Feeling lightheaded or not, she wasn't going to let this man take advantage of her like she's some cheap knock-up whore!

Anger began rising from the pit of her stomach, both from her stubbornness and the thought of what was about to happen to her. Struggling a bit so that her mouth was partially free, she bit down on his hand with enough pressure to draw blood. Letting out a painful shout, the man ripped his hand from her mouth and then immediately started cursing as his blood splattered on his blue pinstriped shirt. "You bitch!" he bellowed, raising his hand to slap her.

In fear, Naruto cringed, expecting the blow to come but never feeling it. Instead, she heard the loud 'smack' as something else was struck, then her assailant's loud groan of pain. Opening her eyes, she saw the man she recognized as Uchiha Sasuke from his driver's license leaning over her now unconscious attacker.

Too weak to run, Naruto shakily sank to the ground, her eyes closed tightly as she awaited the attack she was sure to come from her rescuer. After all, she had robbed him and lied to him only a few nights before. He had probably only saved her so he could have the pleasure of raping her himself. A dark shadow fell over her and she wearily opened her eyes, staring up into his intense onyx ones.

"Please," she whispered, unable to get her voice to work as another coughing fit set in. "..Don't…" Naruto hated feeling weak, especially in front of a complete stranger, but her throbbing headache was proving her resistance futile.

Sasuke kneeled down in front of her, eyeing the blood gradually sliding down the side of her mouth with disgust. Taking his eyes off of that, he finally got a good look at her and recognized her as the girl who had taken his wallet a few nights before.

"Naruto, right?" he asked, sighing as he remembered her parting words as she jumped this very fence. Naruto mutely nodded, slowly pushing herself to her feet and using the wall behind her to help steady herself.

"I... I... still have your wallet," she stammered, pushing herself off the wall and gently pushing past him. "Follow me and I'll give it back." Wrapping her arms tightly around herself as another shivering fit set in, she looked over her shoulder to see if he was following her. Indeed he was. In fact, he was watching her with hawk eyes it seemed to make sure she wasn't going to try to escape again.

Quickening his pace, Sasuke began to walk beside her, his strides matching hers. "What happened back there?" he finally inquired, giving her a questioning glance as they passed through the crowds of people, who were, no doubt, on their lunch breaks.

"Oh, that." She took a deep breath, ignoring the wheezing sound her lungs made as she did so. "I happened to pick the pocket of the wrong person this time," she stated nonchalantly, lowering her gaze to the ground.

"I seem to be losing my touch." Her stomach turned against her, causing her to pause mid-step and try to keep the nausea down to minimum. She noticed the few disgusted glares she was receiving from passersby who discerned the blood stain on her face. Wiping it off with the overly long sleeve of her jacket, she continued trekking to her destination, ignoring the rest of the glares she's receiving. She was used to glares like that. Those icy, cold glares…

"Maybe you should get a new profession then," her companion of the moment suggested sarcastically, snapping her out of her reverie. He now stood in front of her with his arms crossed and his head slightly lowered to meet her eyes so that his black bangs fell across his eyes as he glared at her.

Naruto had to halt abruptly so she wouldn't bump into him, swallowing the lump in her throat when she looked up at his ebony stare. Taking a deep breath to clear her head, Naruto glowered the man down, though probably not doing such a good job at it.

"Look," she said calmly. "You don't know me. You don't know what happened to me. You don't care what will happen to me. So let's just go get your wallet so you can get back to your life and I can get back to mine." She began stomping off, not waiting for him to join her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him trot up to her side. At the same time, she sniffled loudly as her nose began to run and then groaned as it started to stop up, forcing her to begin breathing through her mouth. Why was it that fevers seemed to just jump you all at once? One minute, you can be breathing fine and the next, it feels like you have a brick wall blocking your nasal passages. "You're sick, aren't you?" the man beside her asked.

"Gee, what gave it away?" she asked sarcastically, her voice coming out slightly nasal.

"Maybe you should see a doctor about it."

She turned to glare at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Look, genius, I don't need to see the doctor. I'll be fine in a couple of days." Bringing her eyes back to what lay before her, she muttered, "Besides, what would I pay him with? I don't think they'll accept IOU's."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to her warehouse, and Sasuke eyed her curiously as she began to crawl through broken window that served as her door. He continued to stare until she finally beckoned him in. Carefully avoiding the broken glass, he managed to make it through the opening without tearing either his clothes or his skin only to find himself inside a dusty room. Curling his lip in disgust, he followed her up the stairs as she shakily climbed them, pausing as she coughed a few times. Finally reaching the attic, Naruto gestured over to her makeshift table where his wallet still lay.

"Everything's still inside it." She watched in slight amusement as he obviously didn't believe her and began to flip through the few things which it contained. Seeing his satisfied smirk as he placed it into his back pocket, she quickly sat down upon her bed as a wave of dizziness swept over her. "Now, I hope you don't mind me not escorting you out, but I'm feeling a little dizzy and I don't think I can make the stairs again."

Sasuke stepped over to her and placed a hand flat against her forehead. Surprised by the sudden action, Naruto leaned back slightly, going stiff. A blush spread across her already rosy cheeks, and for once she was glad that she had a fever.

"You're burning up," he hissed, taking a closer look at her feverish eyes. "You really should get to the doctor or a hospital or something."

Black eyes locked with blue.

Her eyesight became hazy. Sasuke became a huge blur.

"I told you before, I don't need to see the doctor and there is no way in hell I'm going to the hospital," she muttered tiredly as she fought down her embarrassment, clenching her eyes shut as the dizziness grew and was soon joined by a pounding headache. Her eyes jerked open when she felt arms go around her and pick her up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Blood pulsed in her head.

"I'm taking you to the hospital. You're sick."

Everything was so loud…

Even in her condition, Naruto was in fact putting up a fight. Kicking and screaming with all her might, she tried to get out of his grasp, screaming incoherently about hospitals killing people like her. But, Sasuke didn't try to suppress her protests. It was only a matter of time before the fever kicked right in.

And it did. Naruto's chest began to heave with the effort she put in her struggle and the dizziness behind her eyes was becoming dreadful. The headache in the back of her head grew painfully until, thankfully, she blacked out and fell limply in his arms.

Warmth.

That was the first thing Naruto felt as she slowly began to wake up. And then the aroma of chicken soup assaulted her senses, sending her back nearly fourteen years to the time the orphanage fed her and the rest of the children warm chicken noodle soup in the dead of winter. Smiling, Naruto snuggled deeper into the fuzzy blanket before her other senses kicked in and she realized the orphanage kicked her out.

Bolting upright, she placed a hand across her forehead as a wave of dizziness crashed down on her from sitting up too quickly. So, closing her eyes, she tried to think about what had happened and where she was. The last thing she remembered was being in her warehouse and the man she knew as Uchiha Sasuke trying to take her to the hospital.

She slowly opened her eyes, squinting as the lights in the room hurt her feverish eyes and looked around. She found herself on one of those corner sofas she had seen in furniture store windows, and in a rather large room decorated in different shades of blue and dark cherry wood antique furniture. Feeling her stomach begin to twist into knots, Naruto sat down upon the couch, trying to keep the room from spinning.

"Oi! You okay?" The speaker walked into the room shirtless, grabbing a shirt that was slung over a wooden chair, slipping it on as he buttoned hastily. "So, you're awake now?"

"Yeah, I'm awake... I think..." Naruto mumbled as she watched him finish buttoning his shirt and straightening the collar. Remembering reading his age on his driver's license, she blushed for the second time today. He was a few months older than her… and she had seen him half-naked…

"For a teme, he looks pretty good..." she silently mused, finally averting her eyes and staring at the edge of the blue blanket she was wrapped in. "So, where am I?"

Sasuke momentarily gave her a bemused look, running his hands through his slightly damp hair and making Naruto believe he had just gotten out of the shower when she woke up. "My apartment," he finally answered, sitting down on the small sofa across from her.

"Okay... why am I here?" she asked, covering her mouth as a hacking coughing fit came over her. That finally passed, she looked at with him with slightly watery eyes and awaited his answer. She noticed her stomach had begun churning again in just the short time she had been awake and it was threatening to spew all its contents across his floor. So, groaning a little, she lay back down on the couch and lightly placed an arm across her stomach.

"Because you wouldn't let me take you to the doctor or to the hospital. I couldn't just leave you out there. You're sick," he explained, rising to his feet and leaving the room. Naruto followed him with her eyes and watched him what appeared to be a kitchen. She could just barely make out the stainless steel refrigerator from her position.

Sasuke emerged a few moments later carrying a tray with a bowl of steaming hot something on it and a small mug of steaming hot something else. Naruto couldn't tell what it was, as she was still lying down on the couch, but she could see the curling tendrils of steam rising in the air and the aromas emanating from them were tantalizing her senses. Turning her head to the side so she could get a better look, she watched him set the tray down upon the coffee table and walk across the room, only to come back with a wooden TV tray.

"Here, you need to try and eat something," he muttered, setting the stand up and placing the bowl and mug upon it, soon followed by an ornate spoon and cloth napkin.

Sitting up slowly so her dizziness wouldn't return, Naruto scooted to the edge of the sofa and looked down at the tray. Her eyes first fell upon the bowl of soup, so picking up the spoon, she took a few slow bites, hoping her stomach wouldn't revolt on her. After the first few bites, she paused, then hesitantly reached for the mug of what appeared to be tea and took a sip. "I didn't know canned soup could taste so good," she said after a few more bites.

While she had been busy with her own soup, her host had gone to sat across from her and watched as she finished off her soup. "It isn't from a can. It's homemade," he explained, rising to take her empty bowl and mug back to the kitchen.

"You made this?" she asked incredulously, her stomach feeling better now that it had something in it and her sinuses beginning to clear from the steam that had wafted to her nostrils. She sneezed suddenly and found Sasuke passing a box of tissues over to her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, in shock that not only someone had brought her in, but was also taking the time to feed her. Nodding, Sasuke couldn't help but show some pride in his culinary skills, reveling in the fact that she enjoyed his cooking. He watched as she continued to sneeze for a few minutes and then begin sniffling.

"A hot bath will help clear your head," he stated, standing up from the couch and beginning to walk down the hall. Looking back, he noticed she was still sitting on the couch. "Come on. I'll find you some clean clothes to wear and show you were the bathroom is."

"Okay... I guess..." she muttered, slowly rising to her feet and unwrapping herself from the blanket. For the first time since she woke up, she realized that she was no longer wearing her jacket, but just her thin black t-shirt that she wore under it. "Um... where's my jacket?"

"It's in the dryer. I had to wash it because... well.. it had blood on it," he explained, beckoning her into a bedroom. He walked over to the closet, opening it and began to rifle through the clothes until he found what he was looking for: a faded blue shirt with the Uchiha fan design on the back, its wide collar circling the head opening, and a pair of white shorts.

"I know they're too big for you, but they'll have to do for now." He handed them to her and then ushered her to the bathroom across the hall.

Stepping into the bathroom she looked around and was taken aback by the luxurious landscape. A marble tub laid to the right of the spacious retreat, its wide oval shape sculpted from the finest work of architects. Elegantly adjacent to the bathtub, a shower rested nuzzled in between the neutral walls, its sterling crystal knobs laid yet untouched. Two sinks, along with a full width mirror stood in front of her, its exquisite designs unparalleled to anything she seen before. Just how rich is this guy anyway? While she was busy taking all this in, she didn't realize that he was telling her where all the towels, wash clothes, and soaps were.

"...and the shampoo is sitting on the edge of the bathtub. If you need anything—" Sasuke was cut off when Naruto interrupted him.

"Are you the only one that lives here?" she asked quietly, her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at him.

Equal confusion played across his face. "Yes... why?"

"'Cause... I thought... Never mind... it was just a random thought that popped into my head."

"I guess he moved out from his parents place." She watched him give her an odd stare and then leave her alone in the spacious bathroom, shutting the door as he left.

Relieving herself from her thoughts, she turned on the hot water, letting it heat up before she slowly added the cooler water to make the bath as hot as she could stand it. Peeling off her clothes, she grabbed a wash cloth from the cabinet Sasuke had pointed out and then slowly lowered herself into the water. A loud, drawn-out sigh escaped her lips at the feel of the warm water caressing her flesh. She could hardly remember the last time she had had an actual bath and not just sponging herself off at some restroom in a gas station. Leaning back, she lay her head against the back of the tub and allowed herself to relax, breathing the rising steam in as it helped to clear her head.

"A few more minutes of this, and I'll be asleep," she mumbled under her breath as she shook her head in an attempt to wake herself up. Sighing, she began to scrub herself, beginning with her lanky mop of hair. It had been a few weeks since she had swiped a bottle of shampoo and washed her hair in the store's restroom.

A loud banging on the door and Sasuke's voice calling to her pulled her out of the reverie she had fallen into. "Are you still alive in there? Or did you drown?" he called through the door.

Finding her voice, she answered him. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." She hadn't realized how long she had been in the bath until he had checked on her. The once steaming water had cooled down considerably and was actually on the verge of being cold. So, quickly rinsing off the soap to reveal now clean skin, she stepped out of the tub and began to dry herself with one of the large, fluffy bath towels he had provided.

Wrapped in the towel, she looked at herself in the mirror and was shocked to find that she appeared to be an almost completely different person. Her hair, though still wet, looked considerably better than it had earlier, and her once dirt stained skin was now of a lightly tanned tone. "My protective layer of crud is gone..." she mused as she continued to stare at her reflection.

She pulled on the shorts and then the blue shirt, noticing a slight but distinct masculine smell coming from the shirt. Without realizing it, she took another whiff of the shirt before she shook her head and rolled her eyes at herself in the mirror. "It's just because I'm sick," she quietly reassured herself as she left the room to rejoin her host.

Walking out, she heard muffled voices in the living room. One she recognized as Sasuke's and the other was of a comforting sisterly quality, soothing in its sound. She stood hesitantly in the living room doorway and took a good look at the people in there before they could see her. Sitting on the edge of the sofa was a woman of about eighteen years with the brightest green eyes Naruto had ever seen. Her short pink hair cascaded around her shoulders, contrasting nicely with the red sleeveless shirt she wore over her white skirt.

Sensing she was being stared at, the woman looked up and smiled when she saw Naruto. "It's good to see you're up and about. When I was here earlier, you were still out like a rock," she said cheerfully, standing up and walking over to the younger teenager, her hand outstretched in greeting and a bright smile playing across her face. "Sasuke-kun tells me your name is Naruto. I'm Haruno Sakura."

Naruto hesitantly shook the her hand, giving her a weak smile in return. "It's nice to meet you... Sakura-chan..." she said quietly, covering her mouth as another coughing fit came upon her. As she coughed, the oversized blue shirt she was wearing slipped slightly down her shoulders. She quickly grabbed it and pulled it back straight, but not before Sakura had noticed.

"What is she doing in these clothes, Sasuke-kun?" she called to the man as her and Naruto walked back across the room. She gestured for the teenager to sit down and then took her own seat beside her on the sofa. "These are way too big for her."

Naruto watched as the man she thought of as Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and sighed, giving Sakura a slightly annoyed look. "Sakura, I don't normally keep women's clothing on hand, you know."

"These are okay. Really they are," Naruto interjected, wondering why they were so concerned over what she wore. "And as soon as my other clothes are clean, I'll put them back on and be on my way. You've done too much already." She began coughing again, which was soon followed by a round of sneezes and sniffles, causing Sakura to give her a worried look.

"Nonsense. You have to at least stay until you're well. I'm sure Sasuke-kun won't mind you staying, will you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, although her tone suggested that he had better not answer in the negative. She turned her head towards Sasuke, shooting him a smiling sadist look, sending shivers down his and Naruto's spine. The blonde gulped down the lump in her throat at the murderous atmosphere that suddenly engulfed the room. She doesn't want to get on her bad side, that's for sure.

Not waiting for his answer, she arose and started for the door. The tense ambiance disappeared as soon as it started as Sakura whirled around with her hands behind her back to face the newcomer, a cheerful smile on her face. "I'll be back in a little bit with some clothes for you to borrow, Naruto. You can't keep wearing those."

Sakura walked out the door, leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone in his apartment. Finally, Naruto spoke up. "I don't have any money to repay you," she whispered ashamedly, lowering her head and looking at her feet.

"I don't want your money," he answered simply, picking up the mug of tea from the coffee table in front of him and taking a drink.

Gulping, Naruto raised her head. "I see..." She closed her eyes and then opened them slowly to stare into the abyss depths of his eyes.

"Well, I... I've never done this before... so... please be gentle..." She trailed off, a heavy blush coming across her cheeks even though she always knew it would come to this eventually. She had just been hoping it wouldn't be so soon that she would have to offer herself to someone.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked in confusion, his brows furrowed as he looked at her.

"You know... so... uh... do you want to head for the bedroom or... uh... should we just go at it here?"

Tea spewed across the room, some of it landing on her as the man in front of her began to choke, coughing a few times to get the tea out of his windpipe. "WHAT?"

"Well, you said you didn't want my money... what other reason would you've brought me here?" She wiped the tea off her face with the backside of her hand, the blush still present on her face. "I mean, myself is the only other thing I have to offer..."

Sasuke stood up and began pacing nervously, giving her strange looks occasionally. "I thought we already went over this. I brought you here because you are sick. I didn't bring you here so I could quote 'have my way with you.' Understand?" By now, he had stopped pacing and was staring at her with his unyielding obsidian gaze.

"Hai," she mumbled quietly, feeling ashamed of herself for misunderstanding his obvious good intentions. "I... I... I'm sorry."

A knock on the door interrupted their stilted conversation and Sasuke left her to answer the door, revealing Sakura with an armload of clothes. "I found these in the closet. I think they'll fit. At least, they'll fit better than what you have on," she explained as she pushed the clothes into Naruto's arms. "Here, go change. Wait..." She gave the teenager a worried look. "You seem to be a little more flushed than you were earlier. How are you feeling?"

"It's just the fever," Naruto lied, sparing a glance to look at the man behind Sakura. "I'm fine... don't worry about me." She slowly arose from the sofa and walked towards the hall with the clothing, but stopped at the hall's entrance. "Thank you... for everything."

Sakura watched the girl leave the room then turned to Sasuke. "She cleans up good, doesn't she?" she commented happily.

"Yeah, I guess she does," Sasuke answered softly.

Thank you to those who have not given up on me or this story.

ALso, there's a 2/3 chance that I'm cutting out Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. Also less police scenes. Sorry all, but the end will come a lot faster with these elements out. Hope you understand.