Sakura attempts to hide away in an abandoned bookstore to escape an ill fate, but it wasn't as "abandoned" as she originally thought.

Thief Sakura. Mage Sasuke. AU. Snippet.

Her dark hoodie slipped downward, revealing a mass of pink that flowed freely behind her in bouncing waves. She didn't dare stop to pull it back up; deeming the process as a useless endeavor over continuing her attempt at escape; precious cargo secured around her neck.

"There! She's down there!"

"Get her, men! Don't let her escape now!"

"You're dead if we catch you, little lady!"

Their evil taunts only spurred her onwards, and she raced quickly between the tall buildings until she came across a dilapidated looking one; an old book store by the looks of it, she guessed before roughly shoving her way in through a partially opened window.

She was gasping for air as her head swiveled from side to side in the dimly lit space. 'Surely I can lose them amongst the shelves,' she thought as she moved through them like a maze. Sakura could hear grunting behind her before the sound of a door being ripped from its hinges and falling to the floor with a resounding clatter could be heard next.

She flinched as several male voices whispered amongst themselves as she tip-toed around to try and conceal her whereabouts from the angry mob of soldiers.

"She couldn't have gotten far."

"We've got the building surrounded."

"There's no way she can fight off all of us at once."

"When I find her, I'm going to kil—"

"Excuse me…," a new voice sounded among the trio and Sakura strained her ears the best that she could to try and decipher it, but she didn't recognize it from anywhere and shook her head to clear it before ducking into an alcove in the wall on her right. As long as nobody came in her direct line of sight, she should be able to remain relatively hidden from their view. The newcomer continued while she waited anxiously for them to leave. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

"This is none of your business, Mage!"

"Yeah, stay out of it!"

The air seemed to thicken instantaneously and she could practically feel the fear rolling off of her attackers. But the newcomer's voice remained calm and aloof, as if the new tension in the room didn't bother him in the slightest. "On the contrary, it is my business when you break down the door to my shop." The metal weighed heavily on her neck as she waited for an opportunity to escape unseen.

"L-look, man," the leader stuttered, "I didn't want to break the door down… b-but—"

"We're here for the girl…," one of his comrades intervened on his behalf when he seemed unable to speak. "Hand her over to us, and we'll be out of your hair. We'll even pay for the damages done… if that suits you."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know of any girl, but I do know that if you don't clear out of my shop…in the next few seconds… you'll regret it." Hushed murmuring could be heard as they considered and contemplated their options, before the group finally relented and with one final apology they left. Sakura wished that she could let out a big sigh of relief, but it would have been short lived as she heard footsteps steadily approaching only a few moments after the soldiers had exited. She pressed herself against the wall and waited. "I don't know what you did, miss… but I highly recommend that you grovel at their feet… and beg for their forgiveness at your earliest convenience."

A tall figure rounded the corner and stopped within a few feet of her thereafter. Shrouded by the shadows, it made it nearly impossible for her to see him clearly, but Sakura got the feeling that staying in his presence… for any length of time… would be detrimental to her. She frowned, refusing to acknowledge or respond to his (seemingly) teasing jab, and studied her surroundings for a means of escape.

Feeling the sharp blades at her hip gave her an idea, and she slowly lowered her hands to reach for one. She'd just toss it at him and while he was distracted she would shove past him and race out the door to her freedom. "I wouldn't do that if I were…"

Grab. Fling.

"… you." Her jaw dropped in astonishment when the knife she'd flung only seconds prior hovered in mid-air between them. The moonlight cast his hand in an ethereal glow as he held it up, using his powers to stop it before it had the opportunity to penetrate his skin. "Tsk. So annoying. After what I did for you… maybe I should have let them take you away."

"I-I…," she stumbled over her words as she stood there in shock. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Hm. Save your apologies for later. Now, we need to leave. More of those soldiers are coming this way," he said while tilting his head to the side. "And I have a few questions for you, before I decide what to do with you." Sakura suddenly felt her cheeks heat as rage consumed her. How dare he say such things. How dare he think he had some sort of… claim on her or something. How dare he—

The stranger stepped forward into the light and the sight of him nearly took her breath away. He was without a doubt the most handsome man she'd ever seen. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin, tall stature, well-chiseled features… with a strong body—

"Perfect."

"What?"

"N-nothing," she stammered and glanced away, her blush darkening. "What do you want with me anyway?"

"For starters, I want to know where you got that from..," he indicated with his head toward her chest where a necklace lay securely against it. Sakura unconsciously reached for it and ran her thumb across the golden medallion… noticing that his eyes followed the movement carefully. "But first we need to find shelter." He tilted his head away from her and only moments later a swirling mass of darkness began to materialize in front of them. Her breath hitched.

"Teleportation!" He nodded and she tried to step back. "No way," she shook her head in disbelief. How strong was this guy to conjure a portal with what seemed like very minimal effort? Her back pressed against the bricks behind her and she was having a hard time breathing. Her palms began to sweat, and she pressed them against the wall for a means of support… fear crippling her into a semi-frozen state. He held out his right hand towards her, tilting his head to meet her widened gaze.

"Come."

"Hell no!"

"I saved you," he stated, as if this obligated her to believe and follow him into the unknown. He sighed, but his hand remained outstretched when she didn't move. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be a corpse. If I meant you harm you'd be covered in injury, miss. Now… come along. We don't have much time." Still, she remained unmoving. Having finally lost all patience with her, he stepped forward and reached for her, wrapping his long fingers around her bicep before tugging her forward.

Survival instincts finally kicked in and Sakura began to flail about while simultaneously trying to push him off of her but his hold was strong, and she was unable to break free of it before he had shoved her in front of him.

With one final look, he pushed her into the black hole and she screamed as she was sucked away into the unknown.

Thoughts/ideas:

So, the idea behind this one is that Sakura has stolen a powerful medallion in hopes of using it to save her family, but Sasuke's family is the rightful owner of the medallion and there is a magic concealed in it that has the capability of either saving or destroying the world.

(His clan is at war with others who wish to use it to destroy the world, the medallion was stolen from them, while Sak's family is cursed and the magic locked within it is the only known cure.)

Sasuke must protect Sakura now that she is the "owner" of the medallion until he can find a way to transfer ownership to himself. Along the way, they encounter many dangers & Sakura almost dies multiple times; but they fall in love and Sakura ends up "sacrificing herself" for him & the world by absorbing the magic; but his clan use their powers to bring her back & she ends up fighting alongside him to beat the "final boss"; both saving the world and curing her family's curse. I hope that makes sense lol

Author's Notes:

If any of these sound like your own writing or another you have read I apologize but I didn't copy anyone's work. This is entirely my own writing.