oOoO oOoO oOoO Tomatoes OoOo OoOo oOoO
oOoO oOoO and OoOo OoOo
OoOo Cherries oOoO
Prologue
The dark sun sank into a sea of color as night slowly approached; wisps of clouds floated around in the sky, their peace interrupted when a tweeting ruckus of birds flew by. The tops of buildings had an orange hue to them, and windows had been left open to catch small breezes.
In the market district of Konoha, vendors packed away their fruits, vegetables, trinkets and toys, while restaurants prepared for the dinner rush. Children were still running in the streets, bumping into adults and each other as they played their energetic games.
On the edge of Konoha, the forest began to take on an intimating look; green leaves turning darker from the receding light. The woody smell of rotting bark and moist grass was an omnipresent aroma that brought comfort to shinobis returning home. Among the pallet of green, was a contrast of pink and yellow.
A young girl of six stood grasping onto the sides of her blue cardigan as she awaited the return of her father. Her hair was short, tied back with a ribbon, and a yellow dress with small dots adorned her persona. Her green orbs scanned the forest nervously, before staring down at her feet.
The dark had never scared her before. Night and day, and darkness and light were a continuous cycle that spun on an internal clock.
When there was light there would always be darkness, and when there was darkness there would always be light. At least that was what her father had told her.
Her Otou-san was supposed to return two days ago, and he was never late when it came to completing missions.
Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, shutting her eyes tightly in order to stop crying. Otou-san had always told her not to cry, it was not the shinobi way to cry. Instead, a true ninja must find the problem, create a solution, and execute it.
The little girl bit her lip, going through the steps: the problem was Otou-san wasn't home, Sakura didn't know the solution, and she wasn't sure what execute meant.
She hated Konoha already and wanted desperately to move back to her village, where she didn't have to worry about becoming a shinobi or her Otou-san getting hurt.
She also wanted to eat the dango her Oba-chan would make for her when she came home from playing. Not to mention, the strawberries and cherries they would pick together, and the pretty flowers Oba-chan would put in her hair.
Her father hadn't been a big part of her life until recently, when he suddenly appeared to claim his daughter and usher her away to Konoha. It was a change that happened so suddenly that Sakura was still having trouble adjusting. And the worst part was that she didn't even get to say bye to Oba-chan.
Her internal battle, emotions versus shinobi conduct, had ended as she broke out in tears. Rubbing her eyes she tried to get rid of them before someone saw and made fun of her.
Sakura was being bullied by a group of older civilian boys; they were tall, intimidating and were always poking fun of her large forehead and pink hair. She hadn't gone to the park for days because of them, and tried to take different paths whenever she caught sight of them.
Still, they would find her, tease her, and lately one of them even pulled her hair and pushed her on the ground. Sakura's tears increased in their flow and her green eyes blurred. She was sleepy, hungry, and desperately wanted her father to come home.
A twig snapped somewhere before a tiny voice was heard behind Sakura, "Why are you crying?"
The pink haired girl turned around with wide eyes, as she tried to wipe away the tears. A young boy stood behind her with pale skin and dark hair, his pouty face was pulled together in disapproval and his arms were crossed.
"I-I wasn't crying!" Sakura said, balling her fists that were now on her side, "there was something in my eye," she lied pathetically.
The boy didn't look impressed, his forced maturity and stance shifted as he pointed at the girl.
"You're a terrible liar. Your face gives away everything," he said rolling his eyes.
Sakura's expression contorted for a moment, before she began sobbing again.
She wasn't fit to be a ninja; crying, emotions, fear, they were the exact things shinobi shouldn't have.
"I can never become a shinobi like Otou-san, a-and then he'll never be proud of me" Sakura said, as she rubbed at her face.
The boy in front of her panicked partially out of awkwardness and the other part out of guilt.
"H-hey," he said taking a step closer, "don't cry."
He looked around, silently asking for someone to come and help him. Nii-san would know what to do, he, on the other hand, was just a little boy who had no experience with crying girls.
"What's your name?" he asked, shifting with discomfort.
Sakura looked up at the boy, who stole a quick glance at her, before looking away into the trees, refusing to meet her eyes again.
The pink haired girl sniffed before replying, "Sakura."
She rubbed her eye with one hand, her tears had reduced to small sniffles, "What's yours?"
"Sasuke," the boy puffed out his chest, filled with pride "Uchiha Sasuke."
There was no denying the fact that the girl would recognize his name, the whole of Konoha knew who he was. After all, being the son of the clan's head was quite a big deal.
Sasuke looked at Sakura, searching her eyes for recognition, but deflated when nothing changed.
"Sasuke-kun, why are you here?" Sakura asked.
The sky had turned darker now, for the sun was almost completely gone. Their shadows stretched out with the trees, and a symphony of crickets had begun.
"I was training," Sasuke spoke with some arrogance, "I'm learning a new jutsu, and I'm going to be just like Nii-san."
Itachi Uchiha was a prodigy and brought great honor to the Uchiha clan, for that reason Sasuke always looked up to his Nii-san learning from him whenever he could.
"Oh" Sakura's eyes brightened and she stepped closer to the boy, "You're going to be a ninja too!" the pink haired girl exclaimed.
He snorted before glancing at Sakura with a look of disbelief, "Of course I am," Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms and turning to the right. "I'm an Uchiha, we are the best ninjas in Konoha."
Sakura opened her mouth forming an O, while a plan devised in her head. If Sasuke-kun was from a powerful clan, then he could train her so that her Otou-san would be proud.
"Sasuke-kun, will you be my sensei?" Sakura asked clasping her hands, and twisting her body so her face was in front of Sasuke's.
The dark haired boy backed up, raising his hands in defense at the sudden closeness.
"No way! Uchihas don't help civilians," he said in a matter-of-factly way.
Sasuke was in no mood to have a girl tagging along with him, and this one cried a lot which made him uncomfortable. Plus, the fangirls would probably go crazy if he chose this girl over them, he didn't want to know what they would do.
Sakura shook her head, wiping the last of her tears, and smiled brightly, "But I'm not, my Otou-san is an anbu," she said at the boy hopefully, he had no reason to deny her now.
Sasuke tsked, looking at the smiling girl in front of him, "Just because your Otou-san is an anbu, doesn't mean you'll be good," the dark haired boy said, flinching when the Sakura's face fell.
She looked up at him with the saddest expression he had seen, her green eyes filled with dejection. Sasuke's discomfort returned.
"B-but Sasuke-kun! You're one of the best shinobi's in Konoha! If you were to train me then everyone would realize how amazing you are," Sakura said, noting how the boy began to think.
It was true, Sasuke was better than most children of his age, if he trained Sakura, people would recognize his amazing skills. He could be just as good as Nii-san!
"And," Sakura added, "I make really good bento boxes," she said smiling proudly.
This seemed to attract Sasuke's attention as he nodded and looked off into the trees. A tasty lunch, and the attention of Konoha seemed pretty good to him.
"Can you add tomatoes?" he questioned. Just the thought of the tangy, sweet and juicy vegetable excited him.
"Sure!" Sakura beamed, "And cherries for dessert!"
The sun had completely disappeared by now, and Sakura's father had still not returned, yet that detail went unnoticed to the distracted girl.
"Fine," Sasuke said with a firm tone, straightening out to make his small frame to look intimidating, "From now on, I'll be your sensei."
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