A/N: Hi, this is my first Naruto fic! Been wanting to write one for a while, especially an AU between Sakura, Naruto and Gaara, so here is my chance!

OoOo

Pushing aside her sweaty bangs from her forehead, Sakura Haruno smile with satisfaction at the arrangement she'd done inside her new apartment. After hours of pulling everything out of the boxes and arranging everything to her perfection, she could finally take a break. Taking a step back, she basked in the sight of her newly arranged living room with a wide smile.

"Great, now all I need to do is go grocery shopping," she muttered to herself as she made her way towards the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.

Finally after three months of searching for an apartment Sakura had finally found the one of her dreams. The rent was decent, the landlady was sweet and the tenants were quiet! It was something she so desperately needed after finally moving out of her pervious apartment from a certain loud-mouth, platinum blond friend.

Just when she was about to take a drink, inside her pocket, her cell phone started to vibrate. Putting the glass on the counter, she dug into her pocket and pulled it out. Seeing the red name flash on the screen, Sakura winced. Speak of the devil, she thought wearily.

Flipping the phone open, she put it to her ear and asked, "What do you want, Ino?"

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE MOVING, FOREHEAD!"

Wincing, Sakura held the phone away from her abused ear. Unfortunately, she could still hear her friend's angry words. "WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU TO MOVE OUT WITHOUT MENTIONING IT TO ME!" she continued to scream, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BEST-FRIEND!"

This wasexactlywhy I didn't want to tell Ino in the first place, she sighed and hesitantly put the phone back to her ear. "Um, Ino, can you refrain from screaming in my ear?"

Through the receiver Sakura could hear her friend's heavy breathing and pray she had finally calmed down. But then again this was Ino she was talking about.

"I come back from work to find your things missing and you missing," Ino hissed through the phone, "I know you always talked about moving out, but a little heads up would've been nice, Sakura!"

"You're right and I'm sorry, but I knew you were going to try and stop me when you found out," she argued patiently, "I just thought it would be best if I kept it quiet and Shikamaru agreed with me…"

"WAIT!" Ino interrupted her, "My boyfriend knew you were moving out?"

Sakura paled; she'd actually forgotten to keep it a secret from Ino. "Um, yeah, but don't yell at him, I told him to keep it a secret from you. C'mon, Pig, you and I both know it would be a matter of time…"

In hopes of softening Ino up, Sakura threw in her friend's childhood nickname. Ever since they were kids Ino loved to eat…hence the name 'Pig,' though how she kept her slim figure would always be a mystery to Sakura. Though to be honest, Sakura didn't know how Ino came up with the nickname 'Forehead' for her…her forehead wasn't even big!

Well from her perspective it wasn't.

"Well, give me the address to your new apartment," demanded an irritated Ino, "I want to check the place out myself to see if it's good enough."

Smiling that her friend wasn't going to argue with her further, Sakura gave Ino the address. "Okay, but don't come now, I'm actually going grocery shopping…"

"Great! That means you're making dinner for the three of us!"

Sakura frowned into the receiver, "Huh?"

"Yeah, Shikamaru and I are coming over." It wasn't a request, but a demand.

Sakura sighed, which also meant she had to spend more money on grocery.

Damn, Pig, she thought angrily. "Fine," she agreed. "I'll give you a call in an hour."

Sakura clicked on her before Ino could make any more demands on her. Luckily for Sakura the supermarket was only a couple of blocks away from her apartment, which meant she got to walk there on this nice sunny day! Grabbing her bag off the counter, Sakura gave the small apartment one last look over before closing the door behind her with a smile.

Deep down she just knew today was going to be a good day!

OoOo

Grinning from ear to ear and holding three bags of groceries, Sakura casually glanced at her watch and noted with satisfaction that she had plenty of time to prepare dinner. Deciding to go through the park, Sakura made her way through the quiet playground, but only to halt when she heard a whimper of distress close by.

"That sounded like an animal" she muttered. Her wide green eyes scanned the bushes to her right and quickly noticed the leaves were rattling. Putting her bags down, she cautiously approached the bushes and parted the leaves and branches. Much to her shock, her eyes widened at the sight of two furry creatures huddled close together. Silver collars were wrapped around their fragile little necks.

Oh, the poor things were so skinny and battered; it almost looked as though they each could fit in the palm of her hand! Upon a closer look, Sakura realized one of the furry creatures wasn't moving while the other one huddled protectively over it.

Her heart lodged in her throat at the sight of the creature's blood coated fur. Always a soft spot for animals, she knew she had to do something to help these poor defenceless creatures. Just the thought of someone hurting these animals for amusement made her fists clenched in anger.

Unfortunately now wasn't the time to go looking for the bastard who done this, she thought regrettably. These animals needed her attention.

Slowly and carefully so not to frighten it, Sakura held her hand toward the hissing animal with a reassuring smile, "C'mon, now don't be afraid," she cooed softly.

The protective animal, from the looks of it, was a tiny fox kit with reddish orange fur and ruby red eyes, which were glaring at her with distrust. Its tail, or tails from what she could see, whipped restlessly behind it.

While the fox kit continued hissing at her, Sakura's green eyes fell on to the unconscious animal it was protecting. Her brows furrowed when she realized it was a raccoon pup. The poor thing was even shaking while unconscious. Its front right paw looked broken and its single tail was bent in an odd direction. Its brown fur was matted with its blood.

"Someone must have hurt you two badly," she muttered sorrowfully.

As if it understood her, the fox kit stopped its hissing as its round eyes now begin to regard her with interest. Its snout began sniffing in her direction curiously. Amused by this, Sakura held still when she realized the fox kit was now approaching her. Though it still wore a guarded look, the tiny creature slowly started to edge toward her. Not wanting to startle the curious kit, Sakura kept her hand outstretch as its snout came close enough to touch her. She suppressed the urge to smile when its cold snout nudge her fingers. Unfortunately she couldn't withhold her giggles when its tiny pink tongue darted out to give her a quick lick. Almost as if it was drawn to the sound the furry fox continued licking her fingertips and a puff of giggles escaped from between her lips.

"There, you see, I'm not going to harm you," she whispered between giggles. "Let me help you."

The fox halted in its licks to regard her with wide and thoughtful eyes. Sakura was instantly amazed by the intelligence in those red eyes; it was almost as if it understood every word she just said.

A soft twinkle like mewl was her answer before it hopped on to her shoulder. Her smile widen when it rubbed its soft fur affectionately against her cheek.

"Okay, now let's see to your little friend, kay?"

It gave an eager mewl in respond.

Taking off the shawl from around her neck, Sakura was careful to wrap it around the injured baby raccoon and cradled it in one arm while with her other she carried her grocery bags.

"I know there's a vet clinic not far from my apartment," she muttered to herself as she made her way out of the park.

The walk to the vet clinic was a mere three blocks away, but she quickly came to a halt when she noticed the clinic was closed. She groans when she read they were open every other day except Sundays.

And today was Sunday.

As if it sensed her disappointment, the fox kit whined, and even the unconscious baby raccoon whimpered in its sleep.

Clinic or no, Sakura wasn't about to abandon these helpless creatures to the outside world. All she had to do was wait until Monday, but until then she'll just have to watch them.

That shouldn't be too hard, right?

OoOo

Inside her bedroom apartment, Sakura had placed the baby raccoon in the center of the bed with a fluffy pillow beneath it. Earlier, she had taped a splint to its injured paw to secure the broken bone in place, though she made sure not to tie it tight to cut off its blood circulation. The whole procedure had been heartbreaking, especially when the little guy had whimpered in pain; she couldn't help but apologized over and over again while cleaning its wound. Beside her the fox kit mewled softly at its companion in comfort.

After making sure the pup was comfortable and sleeping, Sakura left the bedroom with the kit trotting behind her. "You must be hungry," she observed worriedly at how thin and dirty the fox kit was. "After you eat I'll give you a bath."

Digging through the grocery bags that were sitting on top of her kitchen counter, Sakura smiled with satisfaction when she found a can of white tuna fish. While she was unscrewing the can, the little fox eagerly trot around her legs, letting out excited mewls. Sakura couldn't help but smile amusedly at the little guy. Dumping the fish on to a flat dish, she set the plate down with a bowl of milk beside it. The little fox kit was digging in within seconds.

Despite having two new furry companions, tonight's dinner was going to be perfect! She knew for a fact Ino would fall in love with the place the minute she laid eyes on it. Though all she needed at the moment was a TV, dining table and chairs and perhaps some plants as decoration. Maybe she could get some roses? No, maybe orchids would be better!

Oh, but they both sounded pretty together!

Although since it was her very own apartment, she could easily get both!

Satisfied with her upcoming plans for the apartment, Sakura began washing the vegetables for tonight's dinner preparation. She was going to see to it that nothing ruins this get-together.

It had to be perfect!

OoOo

Since Sakura didn't have a dining table, she was forced to use her coffee table as a substitute. In the center of the table was the electric grill-pan and surroundings that were the freshly washed vegetables and thinly sliced beefs, each dish sitting in separate bowls. Although Sakura had put out bowls of rice, she also had clear noodles on the side, just in case her friends wanted to fry the noodles on the grill.

After everything was to her satisfaction, Sakura went into the bedroom to check on her little guests. Not surprisingly she found the fox kit sleeping side its companion. Leaving the door slightly ajar, Sakura made her way back to the living room. She was just getting ready to go back into the kitchen when an impatient pounding came from her door. Already she could hear Ino's loud voice on the other side, demanding entry.

Rushing towards the door, Sakura unlocked it and pulled the door inward. Almost immediately she was pulled into her friend's tight embrace. Smiling warmly, Sakura returned the affection. Behind Ino stood a patient looking Shikamaru, who merely waved at her in greeting.

"Hey, guys, I'm glad you could come!" Sakura greeted as she pulled the two into her apartment and shut the door behind her.

Ino Yamanaka was definitely a beauty with her long platinum blond hair tied back in a ponytail with her bangs covering the right side of her face. But since childhood, what always caught Sakura's attention were her friend's sparkling blue eyes and her fair pale skin. When they were teenagers Ino had an unhealthy obsession of keeping her figure and had, at times, tried to pressure Sakura into going on a diet with her. Though there were times when Sakura would catch her friend sneaking in sweet snacks when she thought no one was watching. Ino could've been a super-model if she wanted to, but instead, her childhood friend decided to run the flower business alongside her parents.

"Wow, you've really out done yourself, Sakura," commented Shikamaru; his normally lazy brown eyes were staring widely at the food.

Sakura nodded her appreciation. "Thanks, seeing how Ino always keep you on a diet I thought you might deserve a treat every now and then!"

Ino, who had been inspecting the apartment, glanced over her shoulder and glared at the two. "You're spoiling him, Sakura!" she growled, "You have no idea how lazy he gets when I'm not around!"

Shikamaru didn't agree nor disagree with the statement; in fact, all he did was shrugged.

"Oh! Before we eat I wanted to give you a house-warming present!" cried an excited Ino.

It was then Sakura realized in Shikamaru's clutches was a small white bag with green and blue paper tissues sticking out of it. Instantly her heart warmed at her friend's thoughtful gift. The gift itself turn out to be a picture frame of when both her and Ino were kids, posing in front of the camera during their middle school trip to the zoo.

Sitting around the coffee table, Sakura and the others eagerly threw the thin beefs and veggies on to the hot electric grill. The delicious smell of sizzling meat and grilled vegetables filled the air within minutes. Sakura couldn't help but laughed at how eager Shikamaru seemed to devour meal before him. Even with Ino scolding him, Shikamaru looked as though he was in heaven.

"So, Forehead, now that you're a twenty-two year old bachelorette living alone, are you finally going to get yourself a boyfriend?"

Sakura grimaced. She always hated it when Ino brought up this unwanted subject. "I'm busy, Pig."

Ino rolled her eyes. "I've been hearing the same excuse since middle school!"

She sighed. "Ino, not everybody thinks about men twenty-four-seven like you. You know I'm busy with college and work."

Ino scoffed. "Even at college you should've found one by now, and same goes for work! You work as a waitress with hot guys coming in and out every day!"

'Not everything has to be about guys!' Sakura desperately wanted to shout. "Ino, you're annoying right now."

Brushing off her friend's warning tone, Ino pushed on, "All I'm saying is it would be nice to see you on dates. As a matter of fact, I have a guy that's interested in you-"

"No, absolutely not, Ino!" Sakura already knew who she had in mind. "Dammit, I don't want to date a guy who wear green suspender every day!"

Ino gasped. "Rock Lee is a sweet guy! Besides, it's not like he wears the same outfit every day, he has one for every day of the week," she argued sweetly.

Even at that Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes and growled, "Ino…"

Shikamaru, sensing the tension in the room, hastily got up and made his way toward the kitchen, but not before plucking more meat and veggies off the grill and into his plate.

Sighing heavily, Ino casually plucked a mushroom from the grill with her chop-sticks and grinned. "I worry about you, that's all."

At her friend's admission Sakura felt the anger drain from her body. "I'm a big girl, Ino; I can take care of myself."

She grinned. "I guess."

"Hey, Sakura, what's this weird thing staring at me?" Shikamaru called from the kitchen.

Frowning, Sakura turned off the grill before heading towards the kitchen with Ino trailing behind her. Almost instantly she felt the tension leave her body at the sight of the adorable orange furred kit growling at a frowning Shikamaru. "Oh, I see you met my temporally roommate," she said, "I found both him and a baby raccoon at the park."

He arched a brow at that, "Really?"

She nodded and knelt down to pick up the hissing kit, but at her touch it instantly calm and began purring at her affectionately. "The vet clinic was closed today so I have to wait until Monday to take them. And this little fella," she gently ruffled its ear, "Just needs food, but I wish I could say the same for his friend."

At the news, Ino's sympathy instantly went out for the poor things. "What's wrong with the other one?"

"It had a broken paw and a gash on its back," she told the couple grimly.

Not wasting any time, Shikamaru asked to see the wounded pup and Sakura showed him to her room. Strolling across the bedroom she flipped on the lamp light. Shikamaru's eyes quickly adjusted to the dim room and found the injured pup sleeping at the center of the bed. Mewling, the kit hopped from Sakura's arms and trot towards the bed.

"What is it?" Ino asked, bewildered by the odd looking pup. "Is that a raccoon?"

"Close, but it's actually a raccoon dog," Shikamaru confirmed as he carefully observed the broken paw and took a hasty step back when the kit hissed at him, "Though normally raccoons don't have patterns such as this." In fact, they were the strangest black swirling patterns decorated all over its furry body. "He looks to be only a month old…"

Curious, Sakura asked, "Do you know anything about taking care of a baby raccoon dog?"

He shrugged. "Is your internet working?"

She nodded. "Had it up and running since yesterday."

Within minutes both Sakura and Ino watched as Shikamaru skim through the internet for any information about baby raccoon. In less than a minute they found out raccoon dogs were carnivorous and were evolutionary related to the foxes, wolves and dogs.

"Huh, perhaps this one escaped from a fur farm," he guessed, "After all, raccoon dogs are known for their furs, though it's illegal now since they banned it in 2009."

Sakura grimaced at this; it probably explained why the little fella was so scrawny and broken.

"Those damn assholes!" Ino cursed angrily.

Assholes indeed, Sakura silently agreed bitterly.

OoOo

"Hey, hey, we're already done with your bath, it's your friend's turn now," Sakura gently scolded the whining kit as it bounced around her feet.

Clicking her tongue, Sakura focused her attention on bathing the pup's wound carefully. Earlier after her friends departed, Sakura had washed the dishes and put away the leftover food in the fridge. After everything was clean, Sakura filled the kitchen sink with warm water and unscented soap before bathing to squirming and squealing kit. Only after when she began massaging the kit's pointy ears and furs did he started to purr his pleasure. At the sound Sakura felt her lips stretch into an amused smile. It almost seemed as though no one had ever given this little guy a bath. When she was done and dried the mewling kit with a towel, she turned her attention to the slumbering pup inside the bedroom. Rather than move him, Sakura had brought in a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sakura dipped the white cloth into the bowl and began washing the dry blood off the pup's fur. In the beginning he had tried to squirm away from the wet towel, but once she started cooing softly at him did he finally relaxed and allowed her to bathe him.

"Okay, all done!"

A low grumble from the pup was her only respond; Sakura would just assume it was his way of saying thank you.

Unable to resist, she carefully rubbed his ear before she gathered the bowl and towel and left the bed. Trotting around her feet was her energetic orange furred kit. Dumping the water into the kitchen's sink, Sakura frowned when she heard little scratches leading toward her fridge and knew, without having to ask, someone was hungry, again.

Sighing heavily, Sakura glanced over her shoulder and frowned at the kit clawing at her fridge. "Fine, one more meal," she agreed, not at all feeling guilty, and besides, the little kit needed to put on some weight. Going toward the fridge, she opened it and reaches for a plate of cooked beef. Closing the door behind her, she sat down on the cold tile floor and grinned when the kit eagerly leaped on to her lap. While he munched on the beef in her hand, Sakura observed its nine, wiggling tails. With her free hand she curiously ran her fingers through it and laughed when his tails began wagging fiercely.

"Well, you're an affectionate little guy, aren't you?" she couldn't help but cooed as he continued to chew on the meat she was holding.

Without warning a sharp tooth nipped her finger. Yelping, Sakura pulled her hand away and frown at the red droplet trailing down her pale skin. "Kit, you bit me!" she scolded, showing him her wounded finger.

Huddling into a ball of fur on her lap with his ears flattened against his head, the kit whimpered.

Clicking her tongue at him, she started to withdraw her finger when he suddenly latched onto her hand and begin lapping the blood away. Startled, Sakura could only sit and stare as his little pink tongue lap away all the blood. His tongue, she felt, was rough like wet sand paper against the tiny pinprick wounds on her finger.

Unable to help herself, Sakura's lips tugged into a smile. "Well, if that's your way of apologizing then I-"

The pink haired woman never had the chance to finish that sentence, especially when a cloud of white smoke poofed around her out of thin air. Sakura would have jumped up in shock, but unfortunately a mysterious weight held her down. The light weight on her lap suddenly grew heavier and heavier until she felt a rather smooth and muscular back pressed against her breasts. Only when the cloud of smoke disappear did she realized that someone was sitting on her lap and that someone wasn't her kit! Her green eyes widened in horror when she noticed the person sitting on her was naked!

Oh my Kami!

There was a naked man sitting in her lap!

And like an idiot she was too frozen in terror to move!

Move dammit, move! She screamed at herself.

Unfortunately, the person in question was slowly turning his spikey blond head over his broad shoulder. Shocked green eyes clashed with amused bright cerulean eyes. His lips stretched into a wide smile before saying, "Yo!"

Oh course Sakura Haruno did what any twenty-two year-old would in her situation.

She screamed.

OoOo

A/N: Please Review!