𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Little Treasures

"Ahh, you two need beanies! Be back quick!" I dashed back up the stairs and grabbed a couple of woolly beanies and scarves for the children, sprinting just as equally fast down the staircase to wrap them up.

"Nee-chan, what about you?" asked Ryo in a small voice as I tightly wrapped the red and white striped scarf around his neck. I shook my head with a small smile, moving onto Yuki.

"I'm not cold," I insisted, straightening up Yuki's outfit before throwing on her scarf and beanie. "There!"

Ino and Sai came thundering down the stairs, each carrying a hefty looking backpack.

"Kohana, I put our things together!" said the Yamanaka loudly, earning a nod from me. They stopped beside us, and Shisui looked at all three of us with a small, cheeky grin.

"We ready, folks?" One last time, I lurched towards the front door, beside which everyone's shoes were lined up. I grabbed a pair of Yuki and Ryo's thickest boots, which were taken off me by Shisui. I looked up at him in surprise, and he shook his head at me.

"You get yourself ready," he said politely. Then, without another word, he squatted down and held out the boot to Ryo, who tentatively put his foot in. Knowing that he'd do the same for Yuki, I grabbed my own combat boots and laced them on, mind whirring in case I'd forgotten anything.

Money? Phone? Hand sanitizer? Bandages? Band aids? Pen? Notebook?

Mentally checking off all of these items as present, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed my handbag from the counter, returning to the entrance with it slung on my arm.

"Great, we're all set! Come on, you two!" Kyoko, who had taken the remaining children to the play room, came dashing up the hallway to meet us one more time.

"Take care!" she sobbed, throwing her arms around me into a great, big embrace. I awkwardly hugged her back. "Kohana, please take care of your brother and sister. Please."

"I will," I choked out, thinking positively. We would come back. That I was sure of. We were going to come back after doing whatever the Uchiha told us, and then we'd be back together, living in peace. We would return.

With a trembling hand, Kyoko slipped something from the pocket of her frock, and presented it to me with a tear stained face.

"The children wanted me to give this to you, for good luck," she said with a strain, holding out a small, fluffy white teddy bear. I recognised it straight away.

"Sho," I said softly, taking the beloved stuffed toy in my hands. Sho- short for Shokuma- was the orphanage's mascot, in a way. All the children would occasionally fight for the opportunity to play with the tiny bear, believing that his cuteness was a sure fire way to have fun. He had his own throne in the playroom, which the children placed higher than any other toy or contraption in the room.

I smiled in affection, pocketing my newfound treasure.

"Tell them I said thank you," I croaked, throat burning up. I grew aware of Shisui and Naruto waiting for us at the doorway, and turned away from Kyoko.

"We'll be fine." Ino and Sai each put a hand on my back, and I held out my hands to Yuki and Ryo, leading them out.

"Thanks for today!" said Shisui, waving at Kyoko before opening the door for us.

"Yeah, today's been the quickest day so far," added Naruto, chuckling as he stepped aside to let me and the others through. "Come on now, guys. We still have a lot to get done."

Without looking back, I pulled Yuki and Ryo forward, seeing a large, dark green army truck parked at the foot of the staircase. Ino and Sai came next, followed by Shisui and Naruto, who shut the door behind us. Shisui jogged forward a couple of steps, leading us to the back of the vehicle.

"Here we go, guys." The only thing that hid the back entrance of the truck was a large, flapping piece of dark green tarpaulin, which fluttered back and forth as the wind around us began to pick up speed. He reached out for Yuki, picking her up and putting her through, followed by Ryo. Next, he helped out Ino, then me, then Sai.

I stumbled in, unsure of what to expect, and wasn't very thrilled by the possibilities.

Lined against the walls of our confinement were the pale faces of more than a dozen other children, most of them not dressed appropriately for the weather outside. Some wore sandals, others didn't have coats. Some didn't even have their own backpacks altogether, which made me wonder what kind of home they'd come from. The oldest child was only about fourteen or fifteen. There were no other adults.

I stumbled over to where Yuki and Ryo sat right next to the entrance, and were joined by Ino and Sai on the opposite side as the truck's booming engine roared to life. It took off, and the first five minutes proved to me that this would be a rocky journey.

Yuki and Ryo huddled closer to me for warmth, and I put my arms around them in comfort. I'd occasionally catch a couple of the other children staring at us out of curiosity, or with envy in their eyes, and I fought not to stare back.

From my pocket, I could feel little Sho giving me comfort. For Yuki, it was her necklace, and for Ryo, it was his toy soldier.

As for Ino and Sai, they had the warmth of each other's embrace to keep themselves company.

At least, for the time being.