The Kitty, the Dragon, the Fox, and the Bunny (Sasusaku and Naruhina)

Chapter 9

A few months passed and the kids were inseparable. After Christmas, Sakura,Hinata,and Naruto went to Sasuke's apartment everyday to spend time with him and Midnight, the kitten they got him. Sasuke was doing well in taking care of Midnight, though it was hard getting food and cleaning up after him. Sakura and Hinata bought Midnight some toys and were playing with him. Sasuke and Naruto were arguing over who gets the last snack that the girls made earlier. "Come on teme! Just give me the rice ball!" Naruto yelled angrily. "No way dobe!! You had more than anyone else!!" Sasuke yelled back. The boys bickered back and forth, not noticing the black cat on the counter. "Um Sasuke-kun..." Sakura started. "Hang on Sakura." Sasuke said. "Naruto-kun..." Hinata warned. "Just a sec Hinata-chan." Naruto responded. "But..!" Both girls protested. "What?!" Both boys yelled out as a small kitten grabbed the last rice ball. The boys stared at the cat aghast as the cat licked his paw and the girls snickered in the background. "We tried to warn you guys." Sakura said giggling. "NO FAIR!!!" Naruto yelled. The guys started to sulk and the girls took pity on them and made more snacks. Soon it was late and Naruto and Sasuke walked the girls home since Naruto decided to stay with Sasuke. They decided to walk Sakura home first since her father was coming back from a mission and she wanted to see him. When they got to the Haruno household, there was an anbu black ops in her living room and her mother was in shock. "W-who are you?" Sakura asked frightened. Sasuke and Naruto stepped in front of her and Hinata protectively. "Are you Sakura Haruno?" The man asked. "Y-yes." Sakura answered. The man handed her a teddy bear with a name on the stomach. It said "Cherry-chan" "That's what daddy calls me.." Sakura thought. "I'm sorry but Kizashi Haruno has died on his mission. His last request was to give you this." Sakura looked in disbelief at the anbu and as soon as the words really hit her, she fell to her knees and started to cry. Sasuke held Sakura from behind and started to whisper in her ear to calm her down. Hinata was crying because she knew the pain that her friend was feeling. She knew how it felt to lose a parent you were close to. She and Naruto hugged Sakura and told her that everything would be alright. The anbu left the family to their grieving. Sakura's mother still hadn't gotten out of her shock. The next few days were spent preparing for the funeral. It was a small funeral, with only family and friends. As the funeral went on, Hinata asked Sakura where her mother was. "She's at home. She hasn't come out of her room in days. I'm really worried Hinata-chan." Sakura said worried. "Maybe she just needs more time Sakura-chan." Hinata was wrong. Mebuki was still grieving her husband. When she did come out of her room, it was to get a little food and she ignored Sakura when she was home. Sakura was heartbroken and she wanted to help her mother, but she didn't know how. Sakura was feeling a little better until she got to school and the girls started to bother her again. "Aww poor forehead! Her daddy died! Are you going to cry like the little wimp you are?" "Leave her alone!" Hinata defended her "sister". "Stay out of this!" The girls pushed Hinata to the ground. "Are you ok Hinata-chan? Sakura asked worried. "Y-yes" Hinata answered. "Come on. We have to go to class." Sakura helped Hinata up and they started to walk away. "Hey forehead! What's that?" A girl grabbed the bear that her father gave her out of her bag. Sakura gasped. "Give me that back! It's mine!" Sakura cried out. "Aww a teddy bear! What are you five?" The girls jeered. The girl that took her bear ripped the head off and threw the pieces on the floor. Sakura's eyes teared up and she ran away. Hinata had her head down and was clenching her fists. The bullies were laughing at Sakura as she ran away. "You girls....ARE SO EVIL!!!!" Hinata screamed. The girls stared wide-eyed at the girl who they assumed was shy. Hinata continued to scream. "Sakura hasn't done anything to you and yet you bully her and pick on her! Is it just because she's friends with Sasuke?! Sasuke won't like you no matter what you do! Especially if you continue to bully one of his best friends!" Hinata roughly pushed the girls down, picked up the bear's head and body, and ran after her sister, ignoring the girls' cries of pain. Hinata found Sakura rolled up in a ball in the corner of a unused classroom and started to comfort her.

~~~~~~~~~Back in the classroom~~~~~~~~~

Sasuke and Naruto were looking around for their friends. They were never late getting to class and the boys were worried. "Iruka-sensei can me and Sasuke go look for Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan?" "Go ahead, but be back in 5 minutes." The boys ran out of the class in search of their girls. When they found the girls, Sakura was sniffling and Hinata was glaring at the floor. "What happened?" Sasuke asked. Hinata held up the torn up bear and told them the story. The boys were livid but proud of Hinata for sticking up for Sakura.

Sakura cleaned up her face and they all walked back to class. When they walked by the bullies, Sakura's head was down and Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata glared at them. By the end of the day, no one dared to mess with the pink-haired girl again. The next day, Hinata had a surprise for Sakura. Hinata pulled out the fixed teddy bear from her bag. "I had one of the helpers fix it." Hinata told her. Sakura had tears in her eyes. She practically squeezed the life out of Hinata. "Thank you so much Hinata-chan!!" Hinata giggled "You're welcome Sakura-chan!" The girls walked into the building with bright smiles on their faces.