Well, you're still reading, even if you're not reviewing. But if you actually cared to tell me what you liked, I could add more of it in.
If you have stayed with me this far, I'd like to thank you for reading the whole thing, and I appreciate your support.
Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters belong to the original mangaka.
23rd April, 2032, Ichido Restaurant, 500 Pine St, San Francisco, Time- 20:45
Sakura had been in an irritable mood ever since she had walked into the office that morning. The unsuccessful visit to the Sahara Group had definitely not helped, nor had Ino's last minute message saying she would be unable to meet Sakura for dinner- an idea which Ino had come up with in the first place. Not to mention, her run in with the Prince of Bastards had been all too coincidental. The second she heard Naruto say that his friend Sasuke had something to do with his being there, she was certain of the fact that it was an all an elaborate plan of Ino's arising from the scene she had witnessed the previous night.
For some reason however, be it Naruto's obvious desire to aggravate her, or his snide remarks followed by a sudden change in mood as they talked about lost family, somehow her bad mood was lifted by the end of the evening, if only to be replaced by a somewhat friendly debate as they left the restaurant. That did not mean, however, that she had forgotten about the previous night. No, it merely meant that she was willing to extend to him a hand of friendship for a second chance.
As they left the restaurant, she asked him, "Did you come by car or cab?"
"Car." he replied briefly.
"Is your car parked ahead?" she asked.
He nodded. "Is yours?"
"Next to the gas station." she replied.
The streets were chilly for an April night, and Sakura wished she was wearing more than her thin windbreaker. But all thoughts of the weather flew from her mind as a black mass came hurling towards her, crashing into her, then running past her.
It took her a few seconds to register what had happened, but when she did, she was sharply aware of two things. Firstly, Naruto was holding the shivering black mass by the scruff of its neck- it was a child, a girl barely ten years of age. Secondly, her purse was clutched in said child's trembling hands.
"A pickpocket." Naruto said, taking the purse from the kids hands and handing it back to Sakura.
The sight of the shivering child, still held immobile by Naruto, reminded Sakura so much of herself when she had first found her way into San Fransisco- all alone, homeless, with nowhere and no one to go to. She was not cruel enough to dismiss her as a petty thief.
"Not a pickpocket. An orphan." she corrected, then lowered herself to the child's eye level, asking, "Am I right?"
The child was still shaking uncontrollably, but managed a strangled whisper of "Yes."
"Put her down, Naruto. You're scaring her." she said.
He obliged before asking, "The kid tries to steal your purse and phone, and you're going to let it go?"
Sakura ignored his question, saying, "She must be a runaway from some orphanage." she pulled the child closer, taking one of her hands in her own, before jumping in surprise. The child's hands were freezing cold. Of course she would be cold, she was dressed in thin black rags.
She put her hand on the child's neck, checking her body temperature, her brow creasing with worry as she took note of how cold she seemed.
"You're freezing!" she exclaimed, looking around for something warm to wrap around her. Before she could, Naruto had taken off his jacket and draped it around the girl's wiry frame.
"We need to get her somewhere warm." she said to him.
"The gas station is closer. We'll take her to your car." he said, turning to walk in that direction.
"What's your name?" Sakura asked the small waif in front of her.
"Y-yuki," she replied.
"Okay Yuki, come with me. You're safe now." she said, holding her hand and following Naruto.
Five minutes later, she was heating up her car while Yuki sat in the front seat, warming her hands in front of the vent. Naruto had gone into the gas station to find something hot for her to drink.
"Where did you run away from?" Sakura asked.
"T-they're gonna come after me." she replied, still shaking, "They're going to take me back." She started sobbing quietly.
Sakura pulled her into a hug, putting a comforting hand on her head, "Shh..don't cry. Nobody's going to hurt you now."
She lulled Yuki into a calmer state, only to have her jump up again and look around frantically as she heard the sound of some distant car doors closing. She pulled away from Sakura, drawing her knees up to her chest and curling up into a ball like a cornered animal, all the while shivering madly and sobbing uncontrollably.
"It's just a car. It's not even near us. Nobody's there Yuki. It's okay.." she said, soothing her, and coaxing her out of her shell.
She heard Naruto approach from behind and hand her a cup of hot chocolate and a box of doughnuts. "Sakura."
She ignored him and brought the cup of hot chocolate to Yuki's lips. "Drink it. You'll feel better." she said, in response to which she parted her lips and allowed Sakura to pour the drink into her mouth.
"Sakura." Naruto called again, which she once again ignored and kept her attention on Yuki, who practically inhaled the drink and wolfed down the doughnut she handed her.
Naruto put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and turned her around to face him, saying, "Sakura."
"What?" she asked, surprised.
Having finally gotten her attention, he said, "Look over there."
She followed the direction of his gaze to the doors of the gas station, where three suspicious looking men walked out. They seemed to be headed straight for them.
"Who-?" she asked, her hand instantly straying towards her weapon holster, surveying the area. The area was more or less empty, save for a few nearby trucks and a gas tanker. No other people were in sight.
It dawned upon her that perhaps Yuki's apparent paranoia was not as baseless as she had assumed. If that were the case, then Yuki was much more than a runaway orphan from a badly run orphanage.
Before she had more time to consider that line of thought, sounds of gunshots filled the air as the men opened fire on them.
She ducked behind the car, Naruto crouching down beside her, as she removed her pistol and fired back at their attackers. Naruto pulled Yuki, who had once again curled into a ball out of fear, out of the driver's seat where she was clearly an easy target.
"You take care of Yuki." she told Naruto.
Before he could protest, she stepped out of the car's cover, aiming for the legs of one of their attackers and firing with trained accuracy. Her bullet hit the knee, and the man fell to the ground.
The last bullet he fired went in the wrong direction as his trajectory was suddenly disturbed by Sakura's bullet. Instead of aiming in the direction of Sakura's car, it hit the gas tanker parked to his left.
As the gasoline within ignited, the entire surroundings erupted into red and orange flames, a deafening roar and a flattening shock wave which accompanied the ensuing explosion.