Disclaimer: This story is written with no hopes of gaining a profit.
All it Would Have Taken
Prologue:
The stories are always filled with "what ifs". Someone asks, "what if this had happened?" and then the world will unravel in a completely different manner then it had originally. The Chaos Theory, The Butterfly Effect, call it what you will, the result is still the same, the story changes. This is a "what if" story. One chance occurrence was all it took for Haruno Sakura to flourish into a successful kunoichi. Once childhood chance meeting was all it took for Hyuga Neji to not grow up alone.
Chapter one: Age Seven, Cursed Foreheads
Seven year old Sakura was surrounded again. For sweet little angels, girls sure were mean, "Look at that forehead! It's big enough for five heads!" Ami, the ring leader of the crowd cried out with laughter and scorn. Almost all of the others made sounds of agreement, affirmative sounds and comments of their own. Comments revolving around a slightly large forehead and uniquely odd pink hair.
"Leave me alone!" The whimpering girl protested weakly, desperately trying not to cry. Her spirit had been bent, tested and threatened, but had yet to be broken. Sakura feared it may not be as resilient for much longer.
"And who is going to make us?" Asked the girl dressed in purple standing to the left of the ring leader, "you?". The question was a challenge, a challenge that the pink haired one would not be able to meet. She was out numbered, cornered and emotionally tired, weak.
"Ino-san, please, just leave me alone." Sakura pleaded again, tear tracks forming on her dirt smudged cheeks. She should be confused. Sakura should be wondering why the entire collection of girls in her academy class picked on her just because of her looks. She should be questioning why this would happen. Sadly, it had happened enough that it was accepted as nothing more then a truth of the world. The sun would rise, the sky would be some shade of blue, the Hokage monument would watch over them all with powerful sets of eyes and the other girls would terrorize.
"I don't think I will forehead because there is nothing you can do to stop us." The blonde stated confidently, slinging her golden locks over her shoulder.
"Leave the girl alone." This was a new voice issuing the order. A voice coming from behind the mob of girls. To Sakura it sounded like one of those legendary ninjas that you hear about during history lessons. The ones that always saves the day and protects the members of their village. Regardless, her hope was miniscule, after all, why would a great ninja want to protect a crying little girl with an ugly forehead, torn clothing and dirt caked cheeks?
Moments passed before Sakura was brave enough to look up. The sight that greeted her was a sonic looking boy and the worried looks on the girls' faces. This boy was older then them, he was eight and in the class above their own. Being older and quite scary to the younger girls, and most likely those of his own age, his word was law. The tormentors quickly dispersed.
"Thank you." The rescued spoke shyly, trying to look presentable in her crumpled dress.
"Hn." The boy brushed off his act and turned to leave.
With a surprising jolt of boldness or maybe some warped desperation the girl called out, "I'm Sakura!"
"Neji." Was spoken back to her as he continued to walk away.
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"You're still being picked on." Neji commented dryly, just having saved the little girl again. Their last encounter had been nearly two months before. Sakura appeared just as small and breakable as she had during that first encounter.
"Yes." She admitted, ashamed and drawing into herself in a way that made her look smaller still.
"Why?" He questioned with piercing opaque eyes.
"I, I, I have a, a big forehead." Sakura confessed to her rescuer, bracing herself for the rejection she had assumed would follow her admission.
"That's stupid." Neji replied, sure of his words. Her forehead was normal. She didn't have a hideous mark sealing her fate.
"You mean you're not going to pick on me?" There was both hope and hesitation in her voice. She believed that this was wonderful, and also worried that she was wrong and the mean words would come soon.
"Of course not." He spoke slowly. Being nice felt strange. "Good bye Sakura." He added as he left her once again.
After that day the girls had stopped picking on her. Sakura did not understand why this was, but she was grateful all the same. It wouldn't be until five months later that she would understand the cause of the cease fire and her new found happiness. Not until she heard the hushed confessions of the new word on the playground. Anyone who picked on Haruno Sakura would have to answer to The Hyuga Neji.