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

Secrets of the Past

Lying stretched out on the smaller sofa he possessed, Sasuke mindlessly flipped through the channels on the television set, his eyes wandering every few minutes to the sleeping girl wrapped in blankets on the other sofa in his living room. She had been there for less than ten hours and had spent about eight of those ten hours passed out on his sofa. Staring at her face, he noticed how her cheeks seemed to be slightly sunken in and her eyes had a hollow quality to them, enhanced by the dark rings around her eyes.

He watched as she scrunched her face up at something and rolled back over, clutching the tattered fox he had brought with her from the warehouse. The look of surprise and gratitude etched on her face when he had pulled that ragged stuffed animal from the dryer and handed it to her still haunted his mind.

A soft knock on the door brought him out of his reverie and quickly got him on his feet before the knocking awoke Naruto. Just one look at her and he could see how much she needed her sleep. It looked as though she hadn't had a good night's sleep in years. So, quietly crossing the room, he eased the door open to reveal Sakura once again.

"Yes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and giving her a questioning look. After all, it was fairly late for her to be up considering the fact that it was after eleven and she had to be at the hospital for her shift fairly early.

"Here. I know you wouldn't think of them, so I went down to the drugstore and picked some up," she whispered as she handed him a box of medicine before pushing past him and walking into the living room.

She let out an annoyed sigh and placed her hand on her brow before turning to stare at him. "Sasuke-kun, are you just going to keep her on the couch or are you going to let her have an actual bed?"

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the bangs out of his eyes as he stared at the girl on the couch. "Well, I thought that since she was already asleep she would be fine there," he muttered, unable to meet his friend's green eyes as they bored into his skull as if he were the stupidest man alive.

"She'll fall right back to sleep. Believe me, she will. I mean, look at her. At this point, nothing could keep her awake," Sakura said softly, gesturing towards the sleeping Naruto with one hand.

"Look, I'll go put some fresh sheets on your spare room bed. And I'll need you to carry her in there when I'm done, okay?" She waited for his nod before she left the room and headed down the hall.

Once he heard the room's door creaked open, Sasuke then turned his attention back to the slumbering figure. He noticed the way her slightly fingers twitched every time she moved her head, the way her eyelashes slightly fluttered when a mild breeze from the air conditioner blew in her direction. Funny that he detected these simplest of movements of a person he barely knew. And her cheeks… they had the strangest markings on them, three whisker-like lines etched out on both cheeks.

"I wonder how she got them…" he wondered to himself, lifting his hand to touch the markings, wanting to know if they're real or not.

"Okay, Sasuke-kun. Bring her in," Sakura called from the doorway of the spare room, stopping him his actions.

Sighing, Sasuke carefully picked the girl up in his arms, once again surprised at how light she really was. Somehow, she managed to stay sleeping while he carried her, breathing through her mouth as her nose was too stopped up. About halfway down the hall, she squirmed slightly and began to whimper as she turned to bury her head in his shirt. Not knowing what else to do, Sasuke slowly rubbed her back with hand, mumbling 'shh' as he continued to what would be her room while she was there.

Sakura stepped out of the way to let Sasuke past her and into the room, pulling back the blankets on the bed for him to set her down. Seeing what the girl was wearing, she let out a sigh.

"Sasuke-kun, go get her one of your shirts to sleep in, okay? Those clothes can't be comfortable for her," she said, using the commanding tone he had heard many times before from her. She always seemed to use it when someone was sick or needing help.

He returned a few moments later with a white dress shirt from his closet. He handed it to the woman and then leaned against the wall. That is, until Sakura gave him a pointed stare. "What?"

"Are you just going to stand there while I change her clothes or are you going to leave the room? I'm sure she doesn't want some man she barely knows seeing her half naked," Sakura scolded as she walked over and physically pushed Sasuke out of the room, closing the door in his face.

Rubbing the growing bruise on his shoulder blade from Sakura's strong shove, Sasuke went back into the living room to wait for his friend. Eyeing the small box of cold pills he had laid on the coffee table, he read the label, pushed out the correct dosage out of the foil, and grabbed a glass of water before going back down the hall. He quietly knocked on the door and waited for Sakura to open it.

When she finally did open it, Sasuke noticed that her eyes were wide with worry and she quickly ushered him into the room, taking the glass from his hand and setting it on the bedside table. "Sasuke-kun, you've got to see this," she whispered as gently rolled the girl over and raised the back of her makeshift nightgown.

Sasuke's onyx eyes widened briefly, then narrowed slightly when he saw what had addled his friend so. The vertebrate in Naruto's back jutted out of the skin, showing how truly underweight she was. "No wonder she was so light," he said softly, reaching out as if he were going to run his fingers across her bones, but then quickly pulling his hand back.

Sakura pulled the shirt back down and slowly sat Naruto up. "Naruto," she called, gently shaking her by the shoulders.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she raised a hand to rub her eyes. "Hm?" she mumbled, her speech slightly slurred as she was still half asleep and not fully aware of her surroundings.

"Naruto, you need to take your medicine. It'll help you feel better," Sakura murmured softly, pushing the two pills Sasuke had brought into the room into the girl's hand.

"Mm-kay." Naruto obediently placed the two pills in her mouth and then took a drink of the water from the glass Sakura had placed at her lips.

As soon as she was done, Sakura helped the blonde settle back down into the blankets, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently stroking her hair until her breathing slowed and became more rhythmic. Then, Sakura arose from her seat and walked out the door, beckoning Sasuke to follow her as she turned off the light and shut the door behind them. "She really needs to see a doctor, Sasuke-kun."

The man pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, looking at Sakura through the hair that fallen across his face. "I know that. But you didn't see how panicky she got when I mentioned that to her earlier, before I brought her here," he explained.

"Which reminds me... why did you bring her here in the first place?" Sakura asked curiously, giving him a small smile. "I mean, it's not like you to bring random people into your apartment. In fact, it's not like you to bring anyone to your apartment. So why her? Not that I'm complaining. I mean, there's no telling what might have happened to her if you hadn't brought her here."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighed. He knew she would ask this eventually. "In all honesty, I don't know why. But... she just looked so pathetic when that man tried to rape her and even I can't kick a wounded puppy. I'm not that cold hearted." He hoped that explanation would suffice, as he no other he could offer her. It still surprised him that he had brought the girl to his apartment.

"I know you aren't. It just takes a lot to get past that cold exterior." She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I still remember the old you, you know. Before you changed."

"Don't even start on that, Sakura. That part of my life is over," he muttered angrily, shrugging her hand off his shoulder as he turned to go back into the living room.

Taking a deep breath, she simply let his icy attitude slide right past her. After having to deal with it for six years, she was used to it by now. "So, anyways, Sasuke-kun, you didn't tell me why you followed her to her... uh... home," Sakura prodded, going to the kitchen and grabbing a lemonade from the refrigerator.

Sasuke sat down on the couch and leaned back, letting his head fall back. "She stole my wallet a few days ago," he muttered quietly. "And she recognized me after I beat the crap out of that guy and told me that she still had it. So, she took me to the warehouse and returned it to me."

Sakura blinked rapidly a few times, as though she were trying to wake up from a dream of some kind and sat down on the couch across from him. "Let me get this straight. She stole your wallet and you still brought her here?" she asked incredulously. "Wow... I mean, geez Sasuke-kun... that is not something most people would do."

"Yeah, I know."

"You do realize that if you hadn't of brought her here today, she may have died from a combination of starvation and flu?" She watched as he nodded tiredly. "You know, I think it must have been fate that you found her," she continued, smiling as she saw him roll his eyes at her.

"What is with the fate crap, Sakura? You're starting to sound like Hyuuga," he said quietly, staring at her through half-lidded eyes.

The girl took another sip of her drink and smiled broadly. "How else do you explain Lee and I, hm?"

When he didn't answer, she continued, knowing that she had already told him this at least a hundred times before. "I mean, come on. When we were at Konoha High in our sophomore year, there was a masquerade ball at the gym. I was standing alone in the middle of the dance floor, everybody else dancing around me already had a partner. Then, the spotlight shined down on me and another person a few yards away. When he approached me, he offered his hand out for me to dance. Of course, I didn't know it was Lee at the time, or that he was a junior, but I felt that I knew him my whole life. Then, one year later, he gave me a promise ring and we'll still happily together. Now, Mister Cynical, how do you explain that?"

"If I've told you once, Sakura, then I've told you a thousand times. It's all just a coincidence." He ran a hand down his face and stifled a yawn. "Speaking of Lee, when's he going to get back from China?"

"The first week in November," she said excitedly. Even after two years of being lovers, she still acted like she was a young schoolgirl with a crush on a boy. She just wished he was able to finish college here and not have to travel abroad. She misses him everyday. "Anyways, Sasuke-kun, it's getting kind of late and I should get going."

Sasuke across the room at the clock hanging on the wall, noting it was already near midnight. Rising to his feet, he escorted Sakura out of his apartment, letting her give him her customary hug before she left. "Good night, Sakura," he mumbled tiredly, about to shut the door when she pushed it back open.

"Oh, by the way, be sure you get her to take those pills every eight hours and make sure she gets plenty of liquids. You have my number if you need anything, so don't hesitate to call. I can always get off work early if you need me," she gushed, trying to think of anything else that he might not otherwise think of. "And if her fever gets over 103 degrees, you have to take her to the hospital even if she does panic. Okay?"

"Hai, Sakura." He gently pushed her out the door and shut it in her face, leaning against it and sighing loudly. "She's worse than any mother I've ever seen," he muttered as he locked the door and started towards his own room, flipping off the lights as he went.

As he passed the spare room, he stopped for a moment, then slowly opened the door and stared at the small lump in the bed that was his guest for the time being. Silently walking across the room, he stopped at the side of the bed and leaned over slightly, brushing his hand across her forehead.

"Fever's gone down," he muttered to himself, absentmindedly pulling the blanket up to her chin as she had thrown it off, her arms which were now covered in small goose bumps from the cooler air. Looking at her face, he noticed how young she appeared. "She can't be more than fifteen."

Just as quietly as he had come in, Sasuke left the room, shutting the door behind him and walking across to his own room which was located just across the hall from hers. Sighing, he made a mental note to call the Konoha Military Police Corps in the morning and inform his second-in-command, Kakashi, that he would not come to work for the next few days. Even though Sasuke owned the police department and was the chief, he still had to come to work like everybody else. Besides, there were some strange disturbances acting up around Konoha, disturbances that unnerved him for some reason.

But, he would have to take the next few days off until Naruto was better. He couldn't leave her alone in the apartment while she was sick. And, now that he thought of it, he couldn't leave her alone in the apartment period. She was a thief, after all. She could and probably would rob him blind the moment she got the chance.

He stared at himself in his bathroom mirror, glaring at the reflection staring back at him. It would always be a reminder of his past, and a reminder of why he had chosen to be alone all these years. And he had managed to keep himself isolated for six years, only letting Sakura and a few other close friends get close to him. Yet, somehow, that girl in the other room had managed to break down his defenses and cause him to pity someone and want to help them. That was an emotion he hadn't allowed himself to feel since before the accident.

He had built his emotional wall up around himself and kept piling the bricks higher, replacing them as they crumbled. But, this girl had somehow slipped through a crack in his wall that he hadn't known existed and now she was sleeping in his spare room. "This is only until she's well," he reminded himself, closing his eyes tightly. "Besides, Sakura will kill me if I make her leave now."

So, finding no way out of the whole he had dug himself into, Sasuke finished preparing for bed and climbed beneath the covers of his bed. But, instead of the sleep he so desperately wanted, he could only continue to ponder what exactly had made him bring the young pickpocket into his house. And, not coming up with a satisfactory answer, he finally drifted off to a disturbed sleep, haunted by shadows of his past.

The sound of something pounding against the window awakened Naruto, her eyes fluttering open reluctantly to find dark storm clouds covering the sky and hailstones hitting the glass. She slowly sat up, looking down at the burgundy comforter laying across her and hazily wondered where she was. The vague memory of a man named Sasuke bringing her to his apartment, feeding her, and letting her bathe suddenly cleared, though it didn't ease her confusion. It was still a new and strange thought to her that someone in this city, someone who she had just robbed, would bring her into their home.

A splitting headache let itself be known and Naruto lay herself back down upon the pillows, pulling the blanket up to her chin and curling into a ball as feverish chills raced through her body. She groaned softly, reaching up to rub her temples, her eyes clenched shut against the pain.

"I hate being sick," she muttered under her breath, rolling over to help clear her stuffy nose as she gasped for breath between parted lips. A look at the bedside clock showed her that it was just after five in the morning and the way her eyelids kept drooping told her that it was way too early to be getting up.

But, just as slumber nearly reclaimed her, she realized that the bedroom door was shut, sending shivers down her spine. The closed door… it reminded her of the rejection.. of the hatred… of that day…

"Get out of here, you damn monster! GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK!"

The orphan owner's words still rang through a four year old Naruto's ears as she felt the sudden heavy rain pour colliding onto her tan skin. She turned around, only to see the door, the place where she spent the four years of her life, rejected her like all the other people she knew.

It caused an absolute terror to settle upon her chest, as though it were forcibly holding her down. So, quickly jumping out of the bed, she stumbled to the door, swaying slightly with both nausea and vertigo, and wrenched the door open.

She crawled back into the bed, clutching her head with one hand and reaching for a Kleenex with the other. But, satisfied nonetheless that the terror had dissipated now that the door was open and the soft glow of a nightlight from the hallway washed through the room, sending instant relief to her frazzled nerves. Sniffling as her nose began running again, Naruto rolled onto her other side and allowed herself to succumb to sleep.

A few hours later, Naruto awoke to the feel of a calloused hand on her forehead and she lazily opened her eyes, squinting them again when the overhead light threatened to blind her still sleepy eyes. "What's going on?" she rasped, her throat having become raw with breathing through her mouth all night and her lips slightly chapped as well.

"Nothing. I was just checking your fever," Sasuke explained, removing his hand from her forehead and looking down at her. One could tell she was sick just by the feverish flush on her cheeks and the dark bags under her eyes. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Naruto sighed, her eyes still closed against the bright light of the room and tried to sit up, only to find that she was having difficulties. "Just a ginormous headache," she murmured, rubbing her forehead to help ease the throbbing that was already forming.

Turning back to the bed, the blue and green pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other, he raised his brow and stared at Naruto. "Dobe, 'ginormous' is not a word," he stated.

"Don't call me dobe, teme!" Naruto shouted, getting worked up over the little insult. Nausea suddenly crashed on her, making the room tilt dangerously.

Sasuke went quiet for a moment after her outburst. The two sat there, black eyes staring at a fever tinted Naruto as if she was a specimen in a laboratory. The moment passed as Sasuke let out a sigh and looked at the blonde straight in the eye, saying something that threw the blonde completely off guard.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto had nothing to say.

"I shouldn't have worked you up with your condition."

Handing her the pills, she looked at warily before turning her eyes up to him in question. "Don't worry. They're just cold pills Sakura left for you last night. And if I don't give them to you, she'll have my head."

Naruto nodded mutely and tossed the pills into her mouth, immediately grabbing the water to wash them down. He turned his attention back to the girl in the bed. "So, other than your headache, are you feeling okay?"

"Feeling okay to WHAT?" she exclaimed a little louder and a little more heated than she had originally planned, but with the headache pounding away at her skull, she could barely contain it. "I can't breathe through my nose, my throat feels like someone scraped it with the edge of a knife, my stomach is preparing to throw up everything I've eaten in the last year, and to top it all off, MY STUPID LIPS ARE GETTING CHAPPED!"

Sasuke took a step back from the bed, his onyx eyes wide as he stared at the yelling girl, who had just started coughing from her uproar. "I guess you feel well enough to shout..." he trailed off, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Cringing slightly at his words, Naruto shut her eyes and lowered her head, a hand reaching up to rub her eyes. "I'm sorry uh... teme–erm, uh.. Sasuke-san... er... I mean... uh... Uchiha-san?" she finished lamely, giving him an apologetic smile and lifting her eyes slightly to look at him. She had never done too well with other people, having learnt at a young age to rely upon herself since most of the world couldn't care less about her.

Eye narrowing slightly, Sasuke realized that he had never actually introduced himself to her. Sasuke-san… that just what all of those stereotypical adults called him.. and Uchiha-san… that's.. that's what people called his father… and he doesn't want to think about the past now. "Where did you learn my name?" he finally inquired rather coldly, an icy barrier rising up around him.

"Your driver's license," she mumbled quietly, looking back down at the comforter that covered her. She chanced another glance back up to him, noticing the way his eyes had become icy in just the few seconds after she had said his name. "You know, when I... uh... borrowed it the other day... I... I kinda was looking through it for cash..."

Sasuke sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb, his eyes closed as he tried to lower the icy barrier. "Don't call me Sasuke-san or Uchiha-san... it makes me feel old," he muttered, leaning his head backwards and looking at the ceiling. "Just... just call me Sasuke, okay?"

Naruto nodded quickly, not wanting to upset this man that had taken both the time and effort to bring her into his house. "Alright... Sasuke," she whispered.

Shaking his head, Sasuke pushed away from the wall and started towards the doorway, but stopped, placing his hand upon the doorframe and his face still looking into the hallway "I'm sorry if I seem cold sometimes, but those formalities reminds me too much of the past," he explained, turning his head slightly to look at her. "But, anyways, do you think you can get up to eat or do you want me to bring it in here for you?"

"Uh... I feel a little dizzy when I sit up, but I think I can stumble into the kitchen to eat..." she began, bringing her legs around and placing her feet upon the floor. It was then that she noticed she was no longer wearing the clothes Sakura had brought her, but a white dress shirt that was too big for her, a few of the buttons unfastened at the bottom. "I didn't go to sleep in this..." she trailed off, a hot blush coming across her cheeks as she realized that someone had changed her clothes and Sasuke was the only other person she knew of in this apartment.

A soft chuckle escaped Sasuke's throat as he noticed her embarrassment and he decided that he might better explain the situation to her. "Sakura came by while you were sleeping last night and insisted that you change clothes. She did it, not me. I wasn't even in the room," he told her, pointing towards the pile of clothing the florist had folded neatly the night before. "Your other clothes are right there if you want to change..."

Nodding, Naruto hesitantly stood up, the button-up shirt she wore hanging down to her mid-thigh, and gripped the wrought iron headboard of the bed to keep her balance as a wave of dizziness swept over her. She noticed that Sasuke was still standing in the doorway, watching her as she tried to take a few steps, only to fall backwards onto the bed. "Maybe I should eat in here after all," she muttered quietly, looking up at him to see him nod and walk off down the hallway.

She settled herself back into the bed, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard after having propped up a few pillows behind her. A lump under the covers got her attention and she reached under there to find her stuffed fox, smiling as she brought him out. When Sasuke had handed her that fox yesterday, still warm from its trip in the dryer, she was hardly able to control the smile that broke out on her face. It was simply amazing to her that he had seen the orange fox and had thought enough to bring it with her. She briefly wondered why a man that could seem so sweet acted so cold-hearted, like when she had called him Sasuke-san and Uchiha-san moments before.

Sitting the fox on her lap, she drew her knees up and stared at the fox. "Okay, Kyuu," she whispered in a conspiratorial manner, feeling embarrassed to be talking to a stuffed fox at her age, "what do you think—" She broke off when she heard soft chuckling coming from the doorway and she quickly jerked her head around to see Sasuke standing there with a tray in his hands. "I was... uh... talking to my fox?"

"I assumed as much," the man replied, handing the tray to her and then pulling a chair from across the room to sit at her bedside while she ate her breakfast of toast and orange juice. He figured the toast would be easy on her stomach and the vitamin C in the orange juice would help fight off her cold. "So, Naruto, tell me about yourself."

Taking a drink of her juice to help ease the toast down her dry throat, she nodded. "Well... what do you want to know?" she inquired, hoping he wouldn't try and dig into her life. He had mentioned that he did not want to be reminded of his past and she was the same way. There were certain aspects of it she wished she could forget, yet they would still haunt her daily.

"Do your parents know where you are?" he inquired.

Naruto closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, mentally cursing at her bad luck, but knew that he would persist until she gave him an answer. And considering the circumstances, she did owe it to him to tell him. "No. My parents died when I was born. I was raised in an orphanage for part of my life."

The headache that had turned to a dull throb now began to pound again, causing her to wince. She opened her eyes and noticed that he was about to say something, but she quickly stopped him. "And don't say you're sorry. I don't want your pity," she snapped.

Sasuke shut his mouth with a snap, nodding mutely and silently respecting her for her response. He knew of too many people who loved to revel in self-pity and receive pity from others. "What about the rest of your family?" he finally said, trying to figure out why someone as young as her could possibly be living on the streets, near starvation.

"They either don't exist or they didn't care 'cause I haven't heard from any of them since then," she scoffed, taking a sip of her juice in the hopes that the cool liquid would help with the aching of her head. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to know more, and she silently debated whether or not she should tell him the rest.

Sighing, she finally acquiesced, "I spent the first four years being of my life at the orphanage. I didn't like the people and the people didn't like me. So, I left thirteen years ago and I haven't regretted it." Maybe that wasn't the whole truth, but Naruto didn't trust this guy enough to tell him all about her life story.

Adding up the years in his head, Sasuke started with the age of four years she had said she was when she left the orphanage, making his eyes widen when he realized how old she actually was. "Wait a minute. You're seventeen?" he asked incredulously, his eyes going over her blanket covered form to try and verify the fact.

The teenager wryly raised an eyebrow, staring at him. "Eighteen in a month and a half," she replied, watching him as he watched her. She knew she had always been a little on the childish side in appearance, but it had never bothered her. If anything, it helped when she stole someone's wallet. Especially when she made up her sob stories, such as the one she had tried to use on Sasuke the night she had taken his wallet. "Got a problem with it?"

"No. You just don't... well, you just don't look seventeen." He silently decided that this was going to be harder than he had originally thought. When he had first brought her in, he had hoped that he would be able to talk her into going back to the family he had thought she had run away from. But, seeing as how she was nearly eighteen and didn't have a family, he decided that wouldn't work.

As she was eating, Naruto noticed that she was having an increasingly hard time trying to get her eyes to stay open and to keep the yawns at bay. On the plus side, she could feel her stuffy nose clearing and the aching in the head subsiding. "Look, I don't mean to be rude and all, but I'm feeling really tired right now and I don't think I can finish this and I just want to go back to sleep..." she rambled, looking at Sasuke pleadingly. "I don't know why I'm so tired either."

He picked up the box of cold pills, reading the back of it to see what the side effects were and smiling slightly when he came across the first one. "Right here, it says 'May cause drowsiness,'" he told her, picking up the tray her breakfast had been on and noting that she had eaten most of it.

"Okay... well, I'm gonna go back to sleep then," she muttered, already sliding down the headboard and into the blankets, her arms around the small stuffed fox. "Goodnight, Sasuke-teme," she slurred sleepily as slumber reclaimed her.