Haruno Sakura stared at the people smiling and waving at her as she got off the plane. She had been gone for four years and had missed their shining faces. She had gone over seas with her best guy friend, Gaka Sai, to study in America. Sai was a douche bag, but he wasn't an asshole. They always poked fun at each other and argued nonstop, but he was one deep son of a bitch. Whenever she needed someone to talk to, he was there with advice. Whenever she was crying, he was angry. She had a lot of close friends, but he and Ino were the only ones that she considered her BEST friends. Speaking of Ino, she had missed her more than anything or anyone in the world. They had talked on the phone almost every day, but it was nothing compared to talking to her and being with her in person! She was so happy to see Ino's turquoise blue eyes following her every movement as she walked closer to the crowd of people.
All of her friends were there. And of course, so were the Uchihas. The Harunos and the Uchihas were best friends and business partners; they were like a second family to Sakura. She looked around the crowd. Naruto was there, Ino, Tenten, Hinata, her mother and her father, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi. She felt like something was missing; or someone. That's it, it finally hit her! Sasuke wasn't there.
Of course he wouldn't be there. Sakura used to be in love with Sasuke Uchiha when they were kids, and he hated her. They had know each other since they were toddlers, and as they aged they began growing apart; partially because Sasuke became an angsty teenager. The only time he had ever showed any kind of friendship of affection toward her was when a snobby girl in her class had cornered her in the girl's bathroom and cut off her hair. He bitched out the girl's brother and dragged Sakura to the principal's office. Other than that, he never wanted to be around her. She wondered if he were still the same. They were thirteen the day she left, and the day before she had accidently blurted out that she loved him. All he said was, "Aa." Then he walked away. When everyone said goodbye to her at the airport the next day, Sasuke wasn't there. Mikoto apologized and said that he had refused to come. And now he wasn't there to welcome her home.
"Oh, well." She thought. The day she left she told herself she'd forget all about Sasuke Uchiha. And she made Sai promise to help her get over him. She had changed since she was thirteen, however. She was seventeen, now. Her hair was still short; she had bangs that were flipped to one side covering her right eyebrow, she had a new style, a new way of thinking, and a new attitude towards everything (especially Sasuke Uchiha.) She knew she was prettier, she was funnier, and she was bitchier. She wasn't the annoying little girl who followed Sasuke around screaming, "Sasuke-kun, where are you going?" Thinking back on it, she hated that girl probably as much as he did.
Her mom hugged her, then her father, as everyone else hugged Sai. Then, in one swift movement, Ino tackled her to the ground. They both began having a giggling fit and Tenten toppled on top of both of them, squeezing the breath out of Sakura and pulling Hinata down into the hug as well. They all stood up and Naruto glomped her.
"Sakura-chan! I've missed you so much! Don't ever leave me for that long again! Dattebayo!" Naruto screamed. Ino agreed and Sakura giggled. She walked over to Mikoto and Fugaku and Mikoto hugged her tight. Fugaku slightly bowed to her and smiled. She tackled Itachi. He chuckled and hugged her tight. She had missed Itachi. He was one gorgeous man! He was 23 years old, but Sakura was going to be eighteen in a couple of months. She giggled in her mind. He looked almost identical to Sasuke; raven black hair, onyx eyes the seemed ever-focused, and the same jaw line and mouth. The only differences were that Itachi had long hair, carelessly pulled back into a ponytail, and Sasuke had a short, spiky, emo-looking cut. And Itachi also had thin, tired looking lines under his eyes. Sakura assumed this was from stress. Despite the relation in their looks, Itachi and Sasuke were totally different. Sasuke was an asshole, and Itachi was funny and sweet.
"Ready to go home, sweetie?" Her mother asked. Sakura nodded, excited to settle her things in her room and relax with friends. They all piled in their cars and headed home, Sai riding with Ino. When Sakura got home, all the girls and Sai came over. They sat in Sakura's room, talking and catching up.
"Naruto hasn't shut up about you coming home for, like, three months!" Ino said. "Right, Hinata?" She asked. Hinata nodded and smiled. Hinata was dating Naruto (finally.) She had a crush on him since she was, like, ten or eleven.
"He…really missed you, Sakura-chan!" Hinata said, giggling.
"He's been annoying Sasuke with endless discussions about you, yet Sasuke didn't seem as annoyed as he used to be the topic of you. I think he missed you." Ino giggled. Sai coughed, trying to get Ino to drop the subject of Sasuke before it could really begin. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I don't care." She said. Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring and her mother called her downstairs to answer the door. She opened the door, expecting Shikamaru and Temari. To her surprise, Naruto was standing in the doorway, gripping Sasuke's wrist. Sasuke was glaring at him.
"Heeey! I brought the teme here to see you! He needed a little push to get here!" Naruto chuckled.
"Dobe." Sasuke rolled his eyes and tugged his arm out of Naruto's grip, his eye twitching.