A Sign of Friendship
Disclaimer: Due to some strange twist of fate, I do not own Naruto.
Also, this one-shot fic is part of one of my longer fics, which I will be uploading soon. Both of the fics are my work, and my work alone.
A seven year-old Yamanaka Ino picked up the basket of flowers she had collected for her mother. The pastel coloured petals flowed over the sides of the basket, and Ino stared at her prize with happy eyes. ''These flowers are so pretty,'' she murmured. ''Mommy's gonna love them!'' She ran towards the path, her feet parting the sea of gentle colour. She didn't see the boy walking along the road. She only felt her nose suddenly burn with stinging pain, and she realised that she was sitting on the ground. ''Hey!'' she yelled at the boy.
He glared back at her. ''Watch where you run next time.''
''Well, you could have moved out of the way if you saw me coming,'' Ino grumbled. She picked up the flowers from the road. ''Now they're all dusty.''
He watched her for a while.
''Well, don't just stand there!'' Ino snapped. ''Help me pick these up.''
His mouth opened, as though he couldn't believe this little blonde-haired girl was ordering him around. After a moment of hesitation, he bent down slowly and gathered the flowers together.
Ino tilted her head to look curiously at the boy. ''Hey, I know you.''
The boy shrugged. ''Everyone does.''
Ino ignored the comment. ''You're Uchiha Sasuke. From the Uchiha clan!''
''I'm glad you worked it out.'' He stood up to walk away.
''Wait up!'' Ino grabbed her basket and scrambled after him. ''Thank you for helping me,'' she felt obliged to say. ''Even though I shouldn't have had to ask.''
They walked in silence. Ino studied the look of annoyance on his face and smirked to herself. Well, if he was so annoyed, then what would it matter to get him a little bit more annoyed?
''I'm Yamanaka Ino,'' she said. ''My mom owns the Yamanaka flower shop. Do you like flowers?''
He paused. ''No.''
''Why not?'' Ino pestered, as they continued their walk. ''They're so pretty. Here, look at this one.'' She thrust a flower into his hand. He stopped again, turning the flower in his fingers. Its soft purple petals raised their heads proudly to the sun, the stem velvety against his fingers. He wrinkled his nose. ''It looks like you,'' he told her, handing her back the flower. Ino took the flower slowly, a small frown forming on her forehead. ''Is that a compliment?''
Sasuke shrugged. ''Whatever.''
Ino kept quiet until they got to the turn which would take her home. ''Do you want to keep it?'' she asked him. She held the flower out towards him, her eyes bright.
Sasuke looked from the flower to her and back again. No, he didn't want to keep it. He didn't like girls. He didn't like flowers. Girls were noisy and annoying. Flowers were dull and boring. A scowl crossed his childish features.
''It's a present,'' Ino said firmly. A commanding look entered her eyes. ''My mum said that you shouldn't refuse a present. It's a sign of friendship.''
A wondering look of confusion glowed in Sasuke's eyes. Girls were annoying. But this one was alright. He held his hand out wordlessly for the flower. ''I don't like flowers,'' he stated clearly. He stuffed it into his pocket and turned away.
Ino gazed at his turned back, blue eyes glittering in the sunlight. ''I'll see you around, Sasuke-kun!''
My first ever fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it. Review if you want.