A/N

Sakura's background and personality are based on her characterization in my other fics Hoshigaki and Eight; Sakura is Kisame's daughter, raised in Akatsuki and the traumas that come with it, before she ends up in Konoha. There she becomes a part of Team Eight alongside Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino with Kurenai as their teacher. It's not long after that Team Eight finds out a few things they're not supposed to, and suddenly they're fighting to survive from Konoha itself.

So take all of that, modernize it, and put it in the Resident Evil Gameverse in AU five years before the Mansion Incident in Resident Evil 0/1.

... Yeah.

Enjoy!

::

Kennedy: Hey, wanna get something to eat? [9:32 pm]

Me: sure [9:35 pm]

::

"So?"

"So what?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. Leon looked up at her, straw in mouth as he sipped his chocolate milkshake. Easy chatter ebbed in and out around them and, as much as she didn't want to admit it, maybe Hidan was onto something about how late night In-N-Out just hit different.

Which she might have enjoyed more if she wasn't busy trying to figure out how she was eating with the football team's Straight-A pretty boy. With his orange and black letterman—Naruto howled for a full five minutes when she called him about it the first time—and friendly smile, he and the people he usually hung out with were probably the most popular at South High.

That suited Sakura just fine. Her, Kiba, and Shino transferred over to the states a year ago and maintained their own reputations as the back row kids, and aside from the occasional 'did you get the notes?' their groups shared, they never bothered each other. Or sat close at lunch. Or talked, really. It was a symbiotic relationship of students who never caused trouble because they weren't looking for it, and she was ready to coast that until graduation.

Then she got partnered with Leon on a two-week long assignment, and an entire week after they turned it in he was still texting her.

Tuesday

Kennedy: I saw a cute dog on the way 2 skool! [7:29 am]

Me: ... i'm happy for you? [7:34 am]

Wednesday

Kennedy: Did we have 2 read 4 english??? [1:19 pm]

Me: yeah [1:20 pm]

Kennedy: Crap [1:20 pm]

Friday

Kennedy: Hardick just yelled at waffle-maker guy. I hope panini kid doesnt get busted, he makes a mean turkey n swiss [11:37 am]

Me: i like the pesto better [11:40 am]

Sunday

Kennedy: How do u think I should stop the team from throwing chris in2 the foam pit [3:27 pm]

Me: did he get thrown into the foam pit [7:55 pm]

Kennedy: quarterbackmorelikeyoushouldnthavedrankallthegatorade.png [8:01 pm]

Me: lmao [8:03 pm]

"So why are we eating burgers at 10:30 pm on a Wednesday?"

"What, friends can't hang out?" Leon smiled, and Sakura propped an elbow on the table and dropped her chin into her palm. It wasn't hard to notice how much he'd been glancing away or how he'd set down his cup to move his hands under the table. She knew she wasn't the most approachable person around, and even with Kiba having the easiest demeanor of the three of them, they didn't really know anyone else around their age.

"We're not friends."

"Ouch."

She popped a fry into her mouth and stared blankly. He ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck.

"Okay, okay, so maybe it was out of the blue when I asked you out like this—" His face darkened a shade— "I-I mean—Not like—not like I was asking you out asking you out—I just thought that we got along when we worked on that report, um, not in a weird sort of way... uh." He chuckled nervously. "Sorry, can I start over?"

She raised a brow, her expression not once wavering as she picked up another fry. He took that as a yes.

"You and your friends transferred sophomore year, right? I've never seen you guys at the games or any events, and even though we've had a couple classes together we've never really spoken to each other, but I kinda regret not talking to you sooner." He set his forearms on the table and leaned forward. The tips of his ears were pink. "I think you're pr-pretty cool, so I just wanted to get to know you better."

... Huh.

He was earnest, for one thing, but she didn't think he would notice her and the boys not being somewhere. And it wasn't like there was much of a story behind their transfer either; they couldn't stay in Japan so she'd made contact with one recluse CEO in the states who she hadn't seen since she was seven.

'And you came back home. If you hadn't, you would've already been—'

Her gaze refocused on Leon who sat expectantly, a perfect imitation of Akamaru whenever he waited for a treat. People who said stuff like that usually wanted something, but she didn't think she had anything he'd be interested in. They had different concerns, different worlds, were just people who almost brushed shoulders in the hallways. Then again, Kiba always nagged about her subpar people-skills and her resting bitch face that tended to be too intimidating (Shino had one too, so Kiba could stay outnumbered.)

She hummed. "I'm cool enough to hang out with the guy that helped fill Principal Hardick's car with raccoons?"

"He totally deserved it!"

"He did," Sakura agreed easily. She munched down her last few fries, and decided. "Alright, Kennedy. I'll bite." As she stood, she dropped her wrappers onto his tray and slipped them both into the trash can behind her. Leon popped up to his feet and swung around the table to stand at her side, their shoulders barely brushing. "What do you want to know?"

He ran a free hand through his dirty blond hair, flashing her the boyish grin that charmed half the school. "If you want to go to that donut shop down the street to see if we can convince them to give us their donut reject pile."

::

Me: i'll be back late [10:41 pm]

Dad: {thumbs up emoji} [10:43 pm]

Dad: {waving emoji} [10:43 pm]

Dad: {red heart emoji} [10:44 pm]

Me: just send one text [10:46 pm]

Dad: But the emojis r bigger if u sen d them individaully!!! [10:47 pm]

Me: {thumbs down emoji} [11:03 pm]

Dad: :'( [11:05 pm]

::

Sakura sat up in bed a minute before her alarm went off, and she sighed. It didn't matter that she only had a few hours sleep, if she knew what time she had to get up the next day, she'd be awake before the ring every time. Punctuality was her curse, but better this curse than the one they left behind when they disappeared into one of Japan's international airport terminals and didn't look back.

She reigned in those loose thoughts and shoved them somewhere far at the back of her head. It was Thursday. There was a test in chem. She was going to score an 86% on it by losing points on the second hardest written response, misreading one of the trick multiple choice questions, and switching two of the fill-in-the-blanks. It was a good balance against the 95% she got on the test from two weeks ago, and if she kept playing the range she wouldn't have any trouble landing a 91% at the end of the year; a steady A-.

Her phone lit up at the corner of her eye and she swiped the screen before the default tone could trickle into the room.

It was Thursday. She should get ready.

She was the first one downstairs in a pair of dark jeans and a sea green long sleeve, her hair brushed through once and poking around her earlobes. The dye's a little faded yet still unabashedly pink, and her roots were growing in thick, dark brown, and wavy. Kisame never really said anything about it—not about it being so short, too messy, too pink—and tousled her hair all the same like she was five again and the current round of bruises on her knuckles were starting to fade from her daily lessons.

First the coffee maker was switched on, then the tea kettle was put to boil, and she brought down three mugs from the cabinet before pulling out the dog food. The second her fingers touched the bowl, the tell-tale click click of nails on wood echoed in the kitchen.

"Right on time," she murmured as the four year old Tosa Inu padded up to her to plop on the ground and lean against her legs. "Ne, Akamaru, how come you're so good at waking up in the morning when your brother's shit at it?"

She set down the bowl and scratched around his ears, prompting his little whuff as he nudged her cheek with a damp nose before turning to scarf down his breakfast. She pecked the top of his head and settled into her usual seat at the dining table, sliding her phone out her back pocket.

Naruto {frog emoji}: THSI BASTARD [4:14 am]

Naruto {frog emoji}: UNFORGSIVABEL.png [4:14 am]

Naruto {frog emoji}: TOMATEOS [4:14 am]

Naruto {frog emoji}: IN RA M E N [4:15 am]

Naruto {frog emoji}: SAKURA-CHAN I MIS U UD NEVER DO THIS T OE MEEE [4:15 am]

Me: i like tomatoes [5:41 am]

A short puff of air shot out her nose as she subconsciously reached towards the box at the center of the table. But when she flipped the top open, she paused at the sight of six of the saddest looking donuts she'd ever seen. Lumpy, misshapen, all with different assortments of glazes and toppings—getting the box hadn't actually needed much convincing. Turned out the owners were part of the same church community as the Kennedys and were more than happy to offer them each a "Bad Batch Box." And Sakura, never one to turn her head at good people, made a mental note to stop by when she felt like getting something sweet.

She picked the blackberry glazed donut with blue sprinkles and leaned back in her seat.

And now it was back to her current odd point of interest: one Leon Scott Kennedy, cornerback for the South High Jackrabbits, a junior just like her, and someone who called her 'cool' late last night.

'Cool' wasn't a word she'd use to describe herself, not that she'd put in any particular thought about it, but being 'cool' never made it onto her priority list, or Kiba's, or Shino's. They always used to be too busy to worry about something so small... no, that wasn't fair of her to say. Teenagers were supposed to worry about being cool and making friends and getting good grades, not worrying about being strong enough to take down things double their own weight or making decisions they were too young to make or getting used to getting hurt.

"You never got a chance to be a normal kid," her dad tells her sometime after the chasm between them was red, raw, but stitched together. "And even if bein' normal might not make a lotta sense to you now, take a break once in a while. Go out, have fun with other kids your age." He throws an arm over her shoulders and pulls her close. "I know it's my fault I brought you up like this, but take all the chances you get, okay? You might miss 'em later."

A year here and she'd been spending it at gyms and corporate offices and custom garages and tattoo shops.

Sakura bit into her donut as she wandered back over to the kettle to grab the sencha tin nearby.

She supposed getting to be a normal kid sometimes didn't sound too bad.

::

Me: next time let's try the new crepe place at the mall [6:08 am]