𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Sakura and Haku

I kept checking my phone to see how much time it had taken from leaving the orphanage to reaching our undisclosed destination. We stopped a total of nine times throughout the day, all in the course of what was at least seven hours. About fifteen more children were loaded into the back with us, as well as three other caregivers, who looked just as wary as I did. I did a head count, and there were a total of thirty seven children and six adults, including me. By now, it had most certainly grown dark, and when I checked my phone for the millionth time, 9:24pm flashed on my screen.

Like many of the other children, Yuki and Ryo were still awake, not wanting to fall asleep for fear of waking up with no one by their side. They kept themselves glued to me, occasionally eyeing out the other children in suspicion.

"Nee-chan, when will we get there?" squeaked Yuki, burying herself into my arm.

"I don't know, Yuki," I sighed wistfully, waiting for the long haul journey to be over. I assumed that they were targeting orphanages all across Konoha, because in between orphanages, the journey would take about forty five minutes on average. All sorts of children were loaded into the back, and it was when we finally reached the ninth orphanage that Shisui poked his head through the back, helping up two more little children.

"We've gone through all the orphanages, thanks for your patience," he said, offering us a tired smile. "Now, we'll be heading to the base where you'll be relocated and settled in. It'll be a long drive, so please, if you get tired, feel free to doze off. The drive will take a few more hours, so... yeah."

With an awkward scratch of his head, Shisui grinned again before putting the tarpaulin back into place. I could hear his heavy boots crunching the gravel on the road as he walked back to the front, and I had a feeling that we were somewhere further in the countryside of Konoha, probably closer to this base camp than we would be at the Happiness House. It was then that I chanced a glance at the children around me, classing them into two different categories: the well off, and the not so well off.

There were about twenty children who looked like they were lovingly looked after and placed onto the truck, while the others looked like they had merely been thrown on without a second look. A few of the well off children were accompanied by the three other adults, which kind of explained why they looked so well dressed for the weather.

I saw many of these children shivering and hugging each other for warmth, and I sighed at the sight. I only had my coat and jumper to spare, but I wanted to give them more.

"Hey, Ino, can you pass me the backpack, please?" I asked the Yamanaka, outstretching my hand for the bag. Knowing Ino, she'd probably stuffed more clothes than we actually needed into it. She slid it to me across the floor, and I grabbed it and opened it up, revealing a whole bunch of thick winter clothes in there. Shrugging off Yuki and Ryo, I unbuttoned my coat then took off my jumper, aware of the fact that the others were staring at me in bewilderment. I pulled out a grand total of five jumpers from the backpack, leaving three in it for Ino, as well as a couple of pairs of socks for the kids wearing sandals.

How did she fit all of this in here? I mused as I rose to my feet, careful not to topple as the truck continued its perilous journey.

First, I came across the girl and boy who were sitting beside Ryo, shivering as they huddled together. I handed them my first jumper; a grey sport's sweater. They were both small, and could easily fit in it together. I placed it over their heads and wrapped it around them like a blanket, offering them a small smile before moving on to the next child. I handed out everything I had to the children who needed them the most, but it still wasn't enough. It was when I felt a tug on my shirt that I turned around to see Yuki and Ryo holding out their spare clothes to me.