The Game

[Chapter 10]- Day 6 Part 2: Cause and Effect

She took a deep breath before speaking. "That girl is no longer here."

Once sh said those words, the world around me felt as if it was falling apart. Sakura would never say something like that unless something bad happened. I haven't know her for long but I've gotten close to her and I learned more about her. I frown as I hold her close to me, not wanting to let go. I stroke her hair and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. It made me extremely happy that she calmed down, her breathing was back to normal and her hard grip on me loosened significantly. "Want to go grab some coffee? You need to get out of this room. Sakura then stiffened up. I sighed lightly. "If it makes you feel better," I started. "I'll be with you the entire time." I didn't know what was going on but whatever it was, she needed all the support she could get.

She let out a shaky breath. "Fine.." She said lightly. I rose to my feet and extended my hands in front of me so I could help her of the ground. She took my hands gingerly and rose to her feet. I, however, was still towering over her.

I smiled lightly as I took my hand in hers and intertwined our fingers. We left the room and began heading to the coffee shop that was located in town. It wasn't that long of a walk, but the walk probably would have seemed longer if I didn't have Sakura with me. I opened the door to the coffee shop, a bell went off that signaled out our arrival.

"Yo!" A voice was heard. I smiled as I saw my best friend behind the counter, he was putting pastries into the front case.

"Hey Naruto. Two Caffè Mocha's please." I said as Sakura and I headed to a table by the window. I pulled out her chair for her and she sat down gracefully. I then sat in my seat across from her.

She smiled before chuckling as she lightly pushed a piece of strand hair behind her ear. "Is the reason why you brought me here is to show mt that Naruto works here?" She asked as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap.

"That's not all." I said as a raised a finger. "Three," I begin counting down on my fingers. I started with three fingers and put them down the lower I counted. "Two," Sakura raised an eyebrow at me. "One." I finished. As soon as I finished squeals could be heard.

"SAKURA!" Two voices said at the same time. Two girls had quite literally jumped over the front counter and ran over to us. Those two girls were Ino and Hinata. They both wrapped their arms around her and squeezed her tightly. The pinkette's face lit up as she smiled.

Ino and Hinata chatted with Sakura while Naruto brought our coffee over. It was dead inside the store so Naruto sat down in the chair behind me and talked with me for a while. A bell sounded which means that more people had come in the store. Naruto, Ino, and Hinata said their goodbyes and got back to work. "Ino and Hinata work here too?!" She exclaimed once our friends were out of ear shot.

I nodded as I took a sip from my coffee. As I did so, I heard Sakura squeal in delight. I lowered my cup from my lips and saw Sakura giggling to herself while she wiggled around. "So good~!" She purred out. I chuckled lightly as she took another drink.

I noticed she had a whip cream mustache and I leaned over the table, towering over her. Her giggling came to a halt and she looked at me whilst slowly sinking in her chair. I reach forward and slowly wipe the whip cream off with my thumb. "You had somethin' there." I said as I winked at her, licking the whip cream off of my thumb. Sakura turned a crimson red as I sat back down in my chair. Her reaction made me laugh out loud. I finished off my coffee and she finished hers after that in silence, but it wasn't a bad silence at all. It was comfortable and satisfying. I grabbed her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. "Bye guys." I called over to our three friends. They waved back as we walked out of the shop.

"Do you work there too?" Sakura asked me.

"Occasionally," I started. "I just pick up shifts if one of them can't work. It's always good to make a little extra money." I stared straight ahead but suddenly I felt Sakura's grip on my hand tighten. I glanced down at her and saw her staring at something or someone. I looked in the direction that she was looking and I saw someone walking towards us.

That someone's name is Kiba Inuzuka.

I stared at him and narrowed my eyes as he walked past us. He did the same and looked directly at us as he walked with his hands in his pockets. Once Kiba was gone, her grip tightened and Sakura went back to normal.

Something definitely isn't right here.

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[Author's Note]
[Word Count: 1411 words]
みなさん、こんにちは (Minasan, kon'nichiwa)! Yay! I updated! I know I posted that note on my page saying i'm sorry for not updating because of my mental state. That still hasn't changed BUT I had this chapter half way done already and I wanted to finish it at school so voila! I'm still slowly trying to update my books so please bear with me! Ciao~