Spring had made its way to the village hidden in the leaves and with it the villagers all felt their moods lift. Many trees throughout the village had blossomed and the streets were peppered with the fallen petals. A young girl was running to one of the many blossoming trees in the fields surrounding the village's ninja academy where she and her friend had agreed to meet. The fallen petals that lined the streets swirled behind her as she ran, marking the path she followed. As she was nearing the meeting spot she waved and called out to her friend and the other two girls that were with her.

"Hey, girls!" She called to them. Her blond friend lifted her head and waved back. "Sakura, what took you so long?" she asked but Sakura just waved the question aside as she smiled down at Ino who had been sitting on the ground leaning against the trunk of a fallen tree. "Ino, you'll never guess who I like." Sakura announced happily.

"Itachi Uchiha isn't it?" The answer hadn't come from Ino but from one of the other girls. Sakura quickly deflated, she hadn't thought it was that obvious. "How- how did you know?" She asked.

The girl scoffed. "Everyone likes him, Sakura. Even Ino likes him."The other girl answered as if it were a known fact which, in a way, it was. Sakura turned to Ino again. "Is that true?" she asked quietly. Ino didn't answer. She just looked down and away.

"Of course it true." The second girl answered. "Who wouldn't like him, with his long hair?" she said flipping her own hair over her shoulder. "-and those cute lines on his face." The other girl continued looking out into space as if she were seeing the older Uchiha brother's face in her mind.

"Wait, what?" Sakura asked. "Sasuke-kun doesn't have any lines on his face. Or long hair." She said looking at the girls with her brow furrowed in confusion. The girls eyes widened in shock." You were talking about Sasuke Uchiha?" The very idea seemed to be inconceivable to them; Ino, however, was looking at Sakura with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Yes, I was talking about Sasuke!" Sakura answered. To her it seemed obvious that she should be talking about the younger Uchiha, the one that they actually saw on a regular basis. Ino was finally able to face her fully, relief washing over her.

"Oh." The first girl who spoke said. She was still looking at her strangely. "You can have him." She said her face and voice laced with disdain that angered Sakura because it was directed not only at her but at Sasuke as well.

"What's so bad about Sasuke?" she asked hesitantly. She wanted to show the girl that she was angry but she'd been made fun of so much and now thanks to Ino the other girls had begun to lay off, she didn't want to go back to the old ways.

"Oh, there's nothing bad about him. He's actually pretty cute. It's just that he can't compete with his brother." The second girl answered with a matter-of-fact tone that really hit a nerve with Sakura. She'd always been shy and reserved, and although she'd never find it in her to stand up for herself she could do it for Sasuke. And she did.

"Well, why should he." She snarled at the girls. Both girls looked completely taken aback. Even Ino, who had still not gotten up, was looking at her with her mouth slightly open. "Excuse me?" The first girl said after recovering from the shock. Her brown eyes had narrowed. She was trying to intimidate Sakura, challenge her, but she was finally past caring.

"Why should Sasuke-kun compete with his brother? Just because he graduated at a younger age doesn't mean he'll always be a better ninja." She said, her own eyes narrowing. The challenge had been accepted. "Besides," she continued getting into a defensive stance. The girl was moving closer to her ready for a fight. Ino got up and ready as well. "Sasuke-kun is top of our class. Doesn't that account for anything?" The girl was slowly lifting a formed fist.

"Apparently not." Another voice said from behind her and Ino. Sakura froze in place. "Sasuke-kun." She whispered. A small part of her felt great pleasure in seeing the other girl's terrified expressions as they looked somewhere behind her.

"You think I'll never live up to my brother?" he spoke again; his voice was deadly and quiet, just above a whisper. The girl opened her mouth as if to answer but only a short breathy sound came out. It seemed that whatever she was going to answer she decided to hold back. "Well, you're wrong, understand?" he said in the same low voice. Both girls nodded quickly their eyes still wide with fear. "Leave." He ordered. The girls nodded and left running. Ino who had turned to look at Sasuke also left but slowly since he was apparently not angry with her.

Sakura still didn't move an inch. She somehow knew that the order he had given didn't apply to her. She was surprised when she felt his presence beside her.

"Thanks." He muttered to her. She finally dared to move and turned to see him looking down at the ground. "Huh?"

"Other than my brother you seem to be the only person who sees me like that." He elaborated. "Oh. Your welcome!" she said giving him a toothy grin. Having Sasuke talk to her like that, open up, confide in her, suddenly made him considerably less intimidating. He smiled back and tilted his head slightly to the side. He had just opened his mouth to say something else when another voice interrupted him.

"Sasuke, Come on, let's go! I have a mission to get t-?" Itachi had agreed to pick Sasuke up at the academy that day but when he had gotten there Iruka had told him that Sasuke had left. Normally he would have waited by the academy doors for his brother to come but he was pressed for time so Itachi had decided to follow his brother's chakra signature. He would have never imagined that he'd find his little brother talking, smiling, with a girl. Sasuke did not talk to girls. Sasuke didn't talk to anyone outside the clan for more than three sentences. "Sasuke?" he asked trying to make sure it was his little brother. He couldn't think of any other kid in the village that had the same spiky hair as his brother but that couldn't be him.

"Itachi!" his brother shouted spinning around and running to him, hugging him firmly round the stomach. "Hey, little brother." He said patting Sasuke on the shoulders. "Who's your little friend?" he asked wondering who the pink haired girl his brother had been talking with was. Sasuke pulled back and started tugging him towards the girl. "This is Sakura Haruno. She's in my class at the academy." He said, pulling him harder.

"Ah." So she was his classmate. "Nice to meet you, Sakura." He said smiling. The girl gave him an embarrassed smile in return and bowed her head. "Thank you, Itachi-san." She murmured while shuffling her feet. Both brothers laughed. "There's no need to call me Itachi-san, Sakura." He said. "Yeah, call him Itachi, like I do." Sasuke said, smiling and tapping Sakura's shoulder with his fist in a friendly gesture. She looked up and smiled back. Itachi's eyebrows rose slightly for a fraction of a second but he quickly recovered from his surprise. He coughed to clear his throat.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke but I have to go on a mission soon. We have to go." He said knowing his brother wouldn't be happy. "But Itachi!" he moaned. Itachi inwardly groaned. He was surely going to have to put up with his brother's complaints the whole walk home. "Its okay, Sasuke-kun, I should go too." Sakura told him. "Well, we're probably going the same way. We can walk together for a bit can't we, Itachi?" he said looking up at his older brother with big black eyes pleading like only a little brother can. "Sure, why not." Itachi surrendered with a sigh. When it came to Itachi Sasuke's pleading eyes were more effective than any Sharingan. "Yes!" Sasuke shouted while pumping a fist in victory. "Come on Sakura, let's go." He said pulling her sleeve to get her to follow him. Soon they were running far ahead while Itachi followed from a distance, walking slowly with his hands in his pockets whistling a random tune that popped up in his head.

"I have to go this way, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said after they had crossed the market. "Aw, man." Sasuke said looking disappointed. "Stop whining little brother." Itachi said once he reached them. "You'll see each other tomorrow at the academy." He continued, putting a hand on their shoulders. "Yeah…" Sasuke agreed half-heartedly while looking at the roof of the academy that was visible from where they were.

"Bye Itachi. Bye Sasuke-kun." Sakura said looking at each of them as she addressed them. Itachi nodded and smiled. Sasuke walked up to Sakura and slowly lifted his hand. She followed it with her gaze. Gently he poked her forehead with his index and middle finger. "Bye Sakura." He murmured. For the third time in one day Itachi was shocked by his brother's strange behavior. After their goodbyes Sakura ran off towards her house, stopping briefly to wave at them one last time before rounding a corner.

The rest of their walk home was rather quiet. Sasuke tried talking to his brother every once in a while but Itachi was just too distracted to give him any real answers but that didn't seem to bother Sasuke at all. He seemed very pleased to have finally found a friend outside the Uchiha compound.

"Mother, father, guess what! Today I made a new friend!"

"Is that so? What's their name?"

"Sakura Haruno."

"Sasuke Uchiha."