Summary: In a world where everything is designed to kill you, you must have unfaltering trust in your team.

Notes: So this is my last prompt for SasuSaku Month 2013, but that doesn't mean that I'm done writing. I'll definitely start a chaptered story which will probably take place in one of these AUs from this collection. This story was somewhat inspired by the movie After Earth (and any other sci-fi, everything is out to get us story). A huge thanks to my wonderfully bootilicious beta, Zoey. She took the time to critique my horrible writing even while rehearsing all day everyday. And once again, thanks for reading!

Paradise

There was fire everywhere.

The red flames danced across the room, causing walls to collapse in a whirlwind of smoke and debris. The large mahogany cupboard in the corner crashed to the floor, pieces of polished china shattering on to the wood.

A stifled sob could be heard under a pile of heavy blankets on the small bed. Flames flickered around sturdy bedposts, threatening to burn it down.

Hurried footsteps resounded in the burning room and stopped right in front of the pile of covers. Ripping the blankets off of the shaking figure underneath, the blonde woman quickly lifted the young girl into her arms and carefully rushed her way out of the destroyed room.

"Alright, honey, just stay calm. We'll get out of here. Daddy's making a path for us right now." The blonde woman raised her hand to cradle her daughter's trembling form.

Hearing the soothing words, the young girl buried her face into her mother's neck, tightening her hold around the woman.

Seeing a large fallen plank in the way, the blonde set her daughter down so that she could climb over the piece of wood and then hoist her daughter over it. However, staggering over, the woman was met with the crimson gaze of two fierce eyes.

Green eyes narrowed in a defiant glare.

"Honey, mommy's going to ask you to go under this piece of wood and run straight for the door, okay?"

The hungry flames were starting to inch towards the doorway.

"B-but—"

"Just do it, please, darling. Just keep running until you find someone, okay? Mommy will protect you."

The woman could feel the scalding heat on the back of her neck. The fire was getting closer.

"But Mommy, what's happening?"

"Go on the count of three, darling.

One.

Two.

Three!"

The young girl easily slipped underneath the wood and sprinted for the exit, breaths coming in huffs. Looking back, she saw her mother crouched down low, preparing herself for the attack.

"RUN, SAKURA! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"SAKURA!"

"SAKURA-CHAN! WE'VE GOT OUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT THIS MORNING!"

Squirming her body around under the soft sheets, the disgruntled girl quickly forced her eyes open, expecting to feel the pressing heat of the fire on her face. She clutched at her pink locks in frustration and let out a loud groan.

"Wake up, sleepy head! I want to eat breakfast before we go whoop some ass on the surface today."

"Go away," the petite girl hoarsely replied before burrowing her face deeper into the pillow. Ah, there was nothing better than sleep.

Muffled whispers of "You try to wake her up", followed by a few loud smacks resonated in the room, preventing the girl from falling back asleep. Anger rising, Sakura tossed her blankets to the side and shot up to glare at the two boys in front of her.

"Why the hell are you in my room at the crack of dawn? And your answer better be good because if not, I will tie you to the ceiling and leave you hanging there until I'm well-rested and ready to get up."

"Sakura-chan, did you forget? We were assigned our first mission above ground!" Grabbing a pencil from his teammate's desk, the smiling blond tossed it into the air only to catch it with his other hand.

"Oh my god, no. I'm not going. You two go without me. Tell Kakashi- sensei that I'm sick or something. I don't care." Flopping her head back onto the pillow, Sakura grabbed her covers and pulled them above her head. "Good night, guys."

The quiet Uchiha in the corner softly padded towards the stubborn female and yanked the sheets completely off the bed.

"Get dressed. We have to leave."

"UCHIHA! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"I can't wait to finally go above ground! I've heard that it's super pretty up there. Shikamaru told me that there are trees and rivers and flowers and so many other amazing things!" Arms behind his head, the grinning blond walked up the stairs backwards so that he could face his two teammates. "Hey, Sakura-chan, you lived above ground, right? Do you remember anything about it?"

"Nope. I was taken down here at a young age. All I know is that the crazy people who want to die very painful deaths live on the surface." She pushed a few strands of pink hair behind her ear. "Don't get too excited, Naruto. It's really dangerous up there."

"Ahhhh, that's what all those years of training were for, Sakura-chan! We can handle anything the surface throws at us, right bastard?"

"I know Sakura and I can, but you didn't pay attention in class half the time, so I'm not convinced about you." The dark-haired man tilted his lips up in a smirk. "You might want to turn around. We're at the gates."

Whipping around, Naruto bounded up the last couple of steps and landed right in front of the guards.

"Hello, good sirs! We're ready to go above ground and show 'em who's boss!"

"Good morning, Team Seven. First time on the surface I take it? The blond seems a bit too excited to have any experience." The guard glanced at his clipboard and then back up at the young team.

"Hey! We're obviously super amazing since we get to go above ground. And what do you do all day?" With squinted eyes, Naruto jabbed his pointer finger into the guard's chest.

"I protect everyone from any surprise attacks. On a daily basis too."

"Yeah, well…" the blond pointedly looked away from the guard, suddenly immensely interested in the texture of the wall. "I'm gonna become Commander one day and then I'll be stronger than everyone! Including you!"

"Yes, yes. I'm sure you will, and while you're at it, you'll become friends with all of the man-eating monsters above ground and then you'll sign a treaty." The guard let out a long sigh, looking at his clipboard once again. "Alright, everything is ready for you. If you'd all just step onto separate platforms, we'll teleport you up."

Naruto bolted towards the nearest platform and yelled, "Alright! Let's get this sucker started!"

Once the other two members of Team Seven stepped onto their platforms, the guard walked over to the control panel and pushed the launch button.

"Be careful up there. It looks beautiful, but it's dangerous."

Before Naruto could throw a remark at the guard, he felt a strong force pulling him in every direction. Frantically looking around, the blond saw a shimmering light all around his body until everything went black.

With a thud, the blue-eyed boy landed in a heap of clothes, weapons, and leather. Two seconds later, and he was joined by his groaning teammates sprawled on the ground.

"Ugh, what the hell? They never told us in the academy that teleporting was so damn painful," the girl complained, eyes squinting towards the bright sun. Suddenly the light was blocked by a hand, which she took with a grateful "Thanks, Sasuke-kun."

Hoisting the medic up with one hand, the dark-haired boy took in his surroundings with a turn of his head.

"We should probably head for the trees. We need to take cover before anything finds us out here."

"Ahhh, just relax a little bit, bastard. This is the first time we've ever seen the sun! It's so bright!"

"It's too bright, idiot. We can't see shit, and it makes us even more visible for any predator. Let's go to the forest." Shielding his eyes with his hand, Sasuke swiveled around to locate any potential dangers.

Fixing her backpack laden with medical supplies, Sakura set her eyes on her brighter teammate and said, "He's right, Naruto. Let's get going, and try to stay quiet. I don't really want to die."

"Wow, this place is super pretty. Look at all these flowers!" Naruto crouched down to peer down at a clump of purple hyacinths. "And they smell so much better than that manufactured floral crap we have underground."

"Idiot, how many times do I have to tell you? Those flowers could be poisonous and knock you out." Sasuke whipped his foot out at his stooping teammate.

"Or kill you," Sakura added, throwing a punch at the blond's shoulder.

"You guys are so abusive," Naruto whined, rubbing his assaulted limbs. "It's gonna be so scary when you finally get married."

"Naruto!" Sakura jerked her reddening face towards him. "What the hell?"

"What, Sakura-chan? You think I haven't noticed all this sexual tension all these years?" Straightening up, Naruto stared at his pink-haired teammate with a serious expression. "You guys just need to jump each other already. It's giving me a headache."

"NARUTO!"

"Shut up, you two!" Sasuke snapped at his two grappling teammates.

Dropping her arms from the headlock she had Naruto in, Sakura stepped closer to her the dark-haired boy and said "What is it, Sasuke-kun? Did you hear something?"

Before he could open his mouth in a reply, a rustle in the bushes to the left broke the muffled quiet of the forest.

The three young cadets dropped into battle-ready positions. Holding their breaths so as to not make any noise, they scanned the surrounding area with trained eyes. Inching closer together, the team formed a triangle, backs facing inward.

The forest was a bit too calm for comfort. Nothing moved except for a few leaves touched by the slight breeze, and an eerie silence blanketed the grove. The many birds that had been squawking not a minute ago could no longer be heard, further raising the suspicion that something was out there. And that something was looking to kill.

Suddenly a large hairy form leaped from the underbrush and pounced right in front of Sasuke. Its tawny coat rippled in the golden sunlight streaming down from the canopy. Lethal fangs bared, the monster snarled at the Uchiha, a low growl ripping through its chest.

"SHIT! SHIT! IT'S A FANGED RANDURA!"

Grabbing on to Sakura's forearm, the Uchiha bolted away from the monstrous feline, looking behind to make sure Naruto was right in tow.

Team Seven bounded through the oppressive forest, breaths becoming labored and legs growing heavy. Twigs scratching at their faces, they jumped over a decaying fallen tree and were met with the edge of a cliff. Whipping their heads to peer into the forest, the three cadets saw the muscled feline barreling towards them, strides long and steady.

Sharing a quick glance, the three steeled themselves and jumped straight into the river below them.

Sakura's pink head broke through the river's surface and she opened her mouth in a gasp for air.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Where are you?!"

Not far from the girl, bright blond and dark black broke through the white frothy waves of the water. Panting, the three cadets swam toward the shore with difficultly, laden down by their wet clothes and supplies.

Making it to the rocky shore first, Sasuke suddenly felt impossibly weak and crashed to the ground in a groaning heap. Grasping at his throbbing arm, he peered through cloudy eyes to see a pink blur rapidly approaching.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?!" Sakura dropped down next to fallen boy, snatching at the medical bag on her back. Cradling his pale face between small hands, Sakura peered into his unfocused eyes. "Can you see me at all?"

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes, attempting to focus on the panicked face in front of him. "I can't see shit and my arm's throbbing." He lifted his limb so that his female teammate could inspect it. "I think something bit me."

"Shit!" Sakura swore violently, tenderly lifting Sasuke's sleeve to better see the purpling wound. "That's definitely poisoned. Naruto, get me the bandages and antidote injections in my bag."

Snatching the backpack from the ground, the blond ripped it open and haphazardly tossed things around. Spotting the desired items, he let out a triumphant yell and shoved them under the medic's nose.

"Alright, Sasuke-kun, I need you to try and focus on me, okay? Listen to my voice." She ripped the tattered sleeve from his muscular bicep. "Just don't fall asleep, whatever you do, please."

Quickly cleaning his arm off with a handkerchief, Sakura popped the lid off of a needle with her clenched teeth and placed it right above his wound.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun, but this is going to hurt really badly."

Feeling a sharp pain shoot through his already throbbing limb, Sasuke let out a guttural cry and collapsed into Sakura's arms. Shaking from the pain, the dark-haired boy focused on steadying his breathing and the nimble fingers stroking his hair. Cracking his eyes open, he saw pink strands of hair framing a green gaze, glossy with unshed tears.

Lifting his calloused hand up to stroke the girl's cheek, Sasuke weakly smirked and croaked out, "Annoying."

Stifling a sob, the medic tightened her hold on the dark-haired cadet and buried her face into his chest.

With his arms behind his head and his back pressing against his sleeping bag, Naruto admired the many twinkling constellations in the black velvet sky. The numerous white dots, forming beautiful and intricate shapes, lit up the dark expanse in a magnificent display of nature. However, the light from the thousands of stars was nothing compared to the gentle light of the moon.

Looking over at his two teammates, Naruto noticed that their sleeping bags were closer than usual. Sakura was probably paranoid about Sasuke dying in his sleep or something.

"It's kind of cold, right?" Naruto threw a sly glance towards the couple. "But I guess you guys aren't that cold since you're all snuggled up. I wish I had Hinata-chan here so I wouldn't feel like such a third wheel."

"Idiot, shut up. You're going to wake Sakura up."

Rolling around towards the boys, the medic grabbed her blankets and pulled them up to her chin. "I actually can't fall asleep."

Turning bright blue eyes towards his female teammate, the blond scrunched his face up and replied, "Why not, Sakura-chan? Are you afraid some bugs are gonna crawl in your hair or something?"

The pink-haired girl buried her face deeper into her blankets and faintly mumbled, "No. More like that Randura is gonna come back." She paused, flicking her eyes toward the perfect planes of Sasuke's face. "Or that something is going to happen to Sasuke-kun while I'm asleep."

Tiredly angling his body so that he was facing Sakura, the Uchiha extended an arm out to run his fingers over her cheek. "Nothing's going to happen. I'm fine now."

Grabbing his slender fingers, the girl closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"You know, even though everything up here wants to kill us, it's still pretty nice."

"Yeah, it's almost like paradise."