"Condemned?!" The gods had frowned upon her. She must've been a serial murderer in a passed life. This was too cruel for words. Was this real? Like was this real life? She must be dreaming, trapped in a nightmare! Does the pinching thing actually work because she's willing to give it a go?

"The place is infested with mold, miss. Unfit living conditions. It's not just that either. There's…" The guy just went on and on about all these health code violations and how her landlord was pretty much a dead man walking and oh! She needs to find a place to live! Like now. Like in the next 12 hours now.

"My chemistry test…" Yes, the fated Chem midterm of third year that screws over pretty much all potential med students. The exam takes place tomorrow morning and she's currently out of house and home.

Sakura was in a real pickle here. Where was she supposed to go? She lived alone. Her parents moved out of the city after she left and lived too far away for her to even think about commuting. Ino, her best friend, went to college in a different state. She has no close relatives. And money, ha! College students don't have money!

"Oh my god…wh-what do I do…?" Honest to god, she felt like crying. The tears were brimming, burning her eyes. One blink and the first of many would be in steady flow down her distraught face.

"Sakura?" A voice called, yanking her from her current bout with despair. She turned, eyes big and full of uncertainty, anxiety, you name it. Those same eyes drank in the figure of one Uchiha Sasuke. He looked like a sweaty mess, dressed in athletic wear with a basketball propped on his hip and a duffle bag dangling from his shoulder.

"S-Sasuke…" She mumbled, caught in a trance which she quickly snapped out of after that betraying tear slipped out and she noticed his face shift into that of a slightly concerned one.

Oh. God.

Why did it seem like she was always bawling in front of him?

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" He moved closer and soon was able to discern the situation at hand using his visual prowess. The condemned notice on the door. The trash bags labeled HARUNO lined up on the sidewalk. And the pristinely dressed, 'I shut down buildings for fun' health inspector chewing out the man he'd come to know as Sakura's landlord.

"Oh." He gathered that she was in a pretty desperate situation.

"Uh…y-you know, I just need a place to crash for like a…a day or two, no big deal! I'll just…stay at a motel or something!" She tried to remain positive, given the circumstances. Really, a motel was fine for the night. She'd pay her fee, dump all her stuff there, and just spend all day in the library until her exam. After that was done, she'd worry about finding a new place to live. Preferably one not covered in mold.

"Don't be stupid. You can crash at my place."

"W…What…?"

"…you're not staying at motel, Sakura. I'll call the loser and have him come help you move your stuff." His phone was already out and up to his ear. And he was talking, giving orders and she could hear the familiar boisterous voice of Naruto, screaming out obscenities and 'I'll be right there!' and that was that.

"Sasuke, are you sure? I mean, I don't want to be an—."

"Is this all your stuff?" He completely ignored her protests in favor of assessing the bags only to grab all he could carry with two hands then turned to her with a glance of expectancy. Like, I asked you something. Answer.

"Uh…yeah, that's all of it, I think…" She wasn't allowed back into the building, so she hoped that was everything that the mold hadn't touched, save for her furniture. Realizing that she couldn't argue with him on this, the pinkette just sighed and moved to grab a couple bags as well.

She wasn't sure what to think in the moments it took Naruto to pull up to the curb in his grey midsized ten-year-old sedan. Her body remain oddly still while her mind just seemed to race though her thoughts never strayed too far from depressing mantras all concerning that godforsaken chem exam.

"Oh god…" She groaned, easily crumbling to bent knees while hands buried themselves in limp pink locks cascading over her shoulder. She heard shifting beside her and assumed it was Sasuke but made no motion or reaction to his closeness. Especially since he just stood there, offering no words or comfort. Just his presence and awkward stoic stare because yes, she could feel him gazing holes into her back with his seemingly deep pools of black.

Her brow creased out of sheer frustration of the unknown. What was she supposed to do? Maybe it was because everything had happened so fast but for once, she experienced what could only be described as extreme disorientation. Like her brain couldn't seem to handle her raging thoughts. There was nothing to tie everything together. It was like a ship without a sail and a storm had blown in just at that moment to ravage her psyche, leaving it in complete disarray.

"Finally," Sasuke droned, retrieving the bag he'd previously sat down. He probably spotted the familiar car from a distance for she couldn't pick up the sound of that engine purring until moments later.

Naruto's car was clean, the opposite of his personal upkeep. But really, it was to be expected. He took pride in the vehicle, even bought it himself with nothing but cold hard cash. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it ran beautifully. Whoever the previous owners were obviously knew how to take care of the thing and this blond was more than happy to take it off their hands.

"So, what happened here, Sakura-chan?" After exchanging greetings with Sasuke, he approached the still crouched distraught female with a bent over posture, hands planted on his hips.

"We can talk in the car. C'mon Sakura." He'd pretty much loaded all of her things into Naruto's trunk sans the help of either of them and seemed pretty tiffed about it too. Though it was difficult to discern what of many things Sasuke was annoyed over.

"Hmm," the blond hummed before prying a hand from Sakura's hair only to heave her up from the sidewalk. He hadn't gotten a good look at her face yet, but he could sense her mood. And while it was nothing like her violent swings, it still worried him to see her so quiet. Almost like she'd been defeated.

And she had been.

The ride was quiet, save for the sound of the radio and Naruto's soft hums and constant finger tapping along the stirring wheel. Seated in the back seat, on Sasuke's side, Sakura pressed her head against the window and looked blandly at her blank phone screen. The device had long since lost battery life and sat in her hands, cold and lifeless.

Sighing silently did she chose to glare out at the passing scenery with an expression that looked to be a mixture of annoyed, frustrated, hungry, and mildly stressed. Under normal circumstances, she'd be burying her face in molecular structures and definitions of words that most people don't even know existed. Yet here she was, watching the cityscape zoom past with eyes too lazy to focus on much of anything.

"So…either one of you gonna tell me what happened?" They hadn't quite reached their destination yet. If Sakura had to guess, they were probably on their way to a taco bell or some kind of fast food eatery.

"What does it matter, Naruto?" The pinkette mumbled. Her tone was uncharacteristically sad causing Naruto to visibly flinch.

"Eh?"

"My life is over…"

"Sakura-chan..."

"Her apartment complex has been condemned."

"…ohhh! Did they finally crack down on that prostitution gig on the fourth floor?"

"They were no prostitutes in my build—!"

"Yes, there were." Both of them called, Sasuke even turned in his seat to stare at her as if he couldn't believe she didn't know.

"Are you fucking—goddddd, this is so bad…!" Again, with the hair pulling. She couldn't seem to cope any other way. As if things weren't already bad, now she finds out her building was not only mold infested but a prime location for paid sexual activities.

"So is that why or…?" Blame his sometimes overly curious nature but Naruto seemed very invested in this. Probably because it was Sakura. And Sakura meant the world to him.

"Mold. The building has mold. I…I don't know the specifics of the infestation, but it was enough for the entire building to be cleared out and with no warning whatsoever." Another sigh.

"Ah…" That answer seemed to sate him for the time being. "Well, don't worry Sakura-chan. We've got an extra room that you can use! Besides, this is kind of good."

"How is this good?!" She didn't really have the optimism to look on the bright side right now.

"Er…how do I put this…"

"Your apartment was shitty."

"Sasuke!"

"What? It's true. The building was old, the people were either drug addicts, prostitutes, or ex-convicts, and it was in a shitty part of town." If Sakura didn't know any better, she'd say Sasuke was actually concerned for her safety. Then again, he and Naruto had been trying, and failing, at convincing her to finally move. She thought it was odd and blatantly refused, both out of pride and for financial reasons.

"…well yeah…" Naruto couldn't really argue with any of that. Still, he would've definitely worded it differently.

"It was all I could afford…" But really, who was he to talk about the condition of her living space of the past six months. She'd gotten used to it! Addicts, prostitutes, criminals, whatever! Her neighbors were all nice people. And the rent was cheap enough! She felt the room to complain was too small to even bother.

"Doesn't matter now. You're out of there for good." Were Sasuke's last words before their conversation was cut short by him rolling down the window and calling out to someone. It took a moment for Sakura to notice but they weren't in front of a taco bell. No, they were at the police headquarters.

"Nii-san!" Sakura was quick to turn her attention, focusing it on the steps to the station where a male figure paused in his mounting to approach their parked car. Green eyes followed him right up until he was close enough to both hear coherently and touch.

It was Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. Decked out in a simple yet work appropriate three-piece suit with a gun holstered and properly concealed at his side, barely noticeable until he bent down to converse with his younger sibling, acknowledging both her and Naruto accordingly.

"What is it, Sasuke?" His voice was gentle yet carried underlying hints of concern for the Uchiha before. It was clear Sasuke now and forever had Itachi's undivided attention whenever he was called upon.

"Sakura's staying with us until she can find another place. Just wanted to run it by you." It wasn't even like Sasuke was asking. Leave it to the younger sibling to feel the most entitled and audacious.

"Ah, is that right? Well…" A mobile device suddenly chimed from his breast pocket, prompting him to investigate and eye the screen. He sucked his teeth at the name riddled across the screen and took a step back. "I have to take this. We can talk more later tonight. See you at home."

And just like that Naruto pulled back onto the main street, this time definitely heading to Taco Bell despite Sasuke's adamant protesting about them having plenty of food back at the house. Naruto wasn't hearing it, though. Probably because he knew one of Sakura's many guilty pleasures was a Baja Blast and cinnamon twists. She mused at how truly fortunate she was from that backseat to have to two of them as friends.

"Thanks, Naruto."

Soon enough that old faithful sedan pulled in the driveway beside a sleek black SUV. If Sakura remembered Correctly, it belonged to one of Sasuke's cousins. She didn't give it any more thought while trying to juggle carrying her things inside with a drink and bag of sweets in her hand.

"Okay, here's the deal. My chem exam is tomorrow morning and I need a quiet place to study."

"Itachi's room is sound proof!"

"Idiot, she can't stay in Itachi's room."

"Who can't stay in Itachi's room? Oh! Sakura-chan's here!"

A/N: Returning to my roots because I originally dropped this on Wattpad and it got no love at all so my feelings are hurt. ANYWAY. I wrote this about a year ago and I'm mostly wondering what sort of feedback I'll get. This will be my first SakuraMulti fanfiction (BMS doesn't count hehe). So give me your honest opinions please! i would greatly appreciate it.