A/N: Hello again SasuSaku readers! Sayjay-chan is back! I was reading a fanfiction today, and while I should be updating my pokemon fanfiction I decided to write this mega kawai one shot! So please read, and at the end drop off a review to let me know if it was any good or not! Speaking will be in "I'm talking." And thinking will be in 'I'm thinking.'
Disclaimer: I don't own the mention of pokemon above, nor sadly do I own Naruto.
A Promise Made On A Sakura Tree
"PLEASE Sasuke-kun?"
"No! I won't do it. It's embarrassing!" Two eight-year-old children were sitting just outside the Uchiha compound on this fine, early spring afternoon. The first was the black haired onyx eyed second son of the magnificent Uchiha's, Sasuke.
He was having an argument with his very best gal friend in the entire world, our favorite pink haired konuichi in the making, Sakura Haruno. Sasuke shook his head as Sakura repeated her request.
"You're not being nice Sasuke-kun!" the younger girl said with an angry sigh. She stood up and placed a hand on her hip, her emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.
"If you won't do it, then I'm gonna ask Itachi-san!" she threatened. Sasuke's eyes widened.
"You can't! Or he'll tell my mother that I was being mean to you!" Sakura smiled; she could feel his spirit breaking.
"Ah well, right? At least I can count on Itachi-san to give me what I want. It's too bad; you could have used that chance as a great training technique." Sakura turned to go, but before she could get away Sasuke jumped up from the soft green ground and grabbed her hand.
"Humph, fine. I'll do it. But only 'cause it's good training." Sasuke turned his back on his friend and leaned forward slightly. Sakura let out a giggle and climbed onto his back. She held onto his spiky jet-black hair like the reigns of a horse.
"Giddy up 'lil Sasuke-kun!" Sakura commanded, pulling his hair. Sasuke winced slightly but other then that he showed no sign of how embarrassed he was or how sore his head was getting.
"Faster!" Sakura cried out as she dug her knees into his ribcage. He broke out into a dead bolt, anything to keep the pink haired rider from doing that again.
"Easy Sakura-chan, that really hurt!" Sasuke muttered. To his annoyance Sakura laughed. He felt the sides of his lips dip upward. The happy sound of her voice never failed to bring a smile to his face. From the kitchen window Sasuke's mother watched the two at play.
"Oh honey, look at Sasuke and Sakura play! They're so cute together! I bet they'll make a good couple when they're older." Sasuke's mother said while washing the dirty dishes made from lunch. Itachi and his father were sitting at the table talking.
"Yes, that's nice dear." Sasuke's father muttered, clearly not caring or paying attention. He picked up a cup of tea and took a long sip.
"I think it's wonderful that Sasuke and Sakura are friends." Itachi said to his mother.
"It's nice to have bonds between us and the Haruno clan. Why just the other day I was talking to-." Itachi was cut off by his father, who had spit out the sip of tea. The family stared awkwardly, not knowing what to make of the now seriously angry face of Mr. Uchiha.
"What did you just say?" the usually pitiless leader's voice was shaking with anger. Mrs. Uchiha stared open mouthed at her husband. Itachi was the only composed figure in the room.
"I said that I was talking to-" His father cut Itachi off again.
"Not that! Before, about the Haruno scum?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at his father.
"Since when did you have a hatred of the Haruno clan?" Itachi questioned. The eldest son threw a quick glance at his mother, as if making sure she was all right. Mrs. Uchiha placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"Please, dear, tell us what happened so that we can think through this logically." Mr. Uchiha took a few calming deep breaths.
"Last night, when I went out for a sake break with some fellow clan leaders, I ran into Mr. Haruno. We talked for awhile, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. That is, until that stuck up peacock Haruno said that his clan was far better then the Uchiha! He said that we didn't have the skill to do anything besides strut around like the worthless imitations of kings we are. I would have killed him, but the bar tender kicked us out for fear of the fight causing damage to his business. I came home instead of beheading that Haruno-teme!" Itachi remained silent while his mother gasped.
"Is that true? Mr. Haruno really said those things?" she put a hand over her heart.
"I don't believe it! They are our friends! We both wear the Leaf headband with pride and honor!" she sat down next to her husband.
"Itachi, take care of that Haruno infestation at once!" Mr. Uchiha roared at his favorite child. Itachi bowed his head.
"Yes, father." He disappeared in a poof of smoke. Sasuke panted as he ran around the house for what felt like the billionth time. Though he told himself to continue, his legs did just the opposite. Sasuke collapsed on the ground with Sakura on top of him.
"Thank you Sasuke-kun! You really are a good friend." She buried her face in his hair and sighed contently. Sasuke, though his legs felt like they were going to fall off, was glad he agreed to play Sakura's silly game.
"You're welcome Sakura-chan. Next time though, let's play a game that doesn't involve me being the horse." Sasuke said, earning a laugh from his female companion. Itachi appeared then, and he stood in front of the fallen children.
"Sakura-chan, it's time for you to go home now." He said in a quiet, unemotional voice. Sakura looked up at the taller Uchiha, the one who had all the glory.
"Okay Itachi-san. Can I come back tomorrow and play with Sasuke-kun?" she asked hopefully. Itachi sat down on the ground and kept his eyes locked on Sasuke's.
"Not tomorrow, I don't think." He said. Sakura looked crestfallen.
"Oh, okay. Bye then, Sasuke-kun." She stood up and helped brush the dirt off of Sasuke's shirt. After giving him a swift friendly peck on the cheek and waving at Itachi, Sakura made her way to the Haruno district of Konoha.
"What gives Itachi? Sakura-chan and I were having fun!" Sasuke sat down in front of his brother and glared at the older version of himself.
"Sasuke, I don't think you can play with Sakura-chan anymore," He said slowly, making sure Sasuke understood. The young boy stared at his brother with confused onyx eyes.
"Our father and Sakura-chan's father had a little fight, and they don't want you two hanging out anymore." Sasuke's eyes widened as realization struck the poor boy.
"No more…Sakura-chan?" Sasuke stated sadly. Itachi nodded once. They fell into a long silence, interrupted only by a light breeze that passed by. Sasuke sniffed, and moved to sit on Itachi's lap. Itachi allowed this behavior, though by Uchiha standards Sasuke should be long past needing comfort and crying. It pained the older boy to see his beloved brother in pain. When Sasuke's tears ran dry Itachi stood up and poked his younger brother's forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?" Sasuke snapped, his mood turning irritable.
"You better be careful; Father feels very strongly about this." Itachi admonished before turning to enter the house. Sasuke followed, gulping down the sudden fear that had gripped his stomach. They walked into the kitchen, and to the children's surprise there stood the leaders of Uchiha and Haruno in a heated conversation. Their faces were inches from each other's, and spit frequently flew from their mouths.
Mrs. Uchiha and Mrs. Haruno stood by the sink, muttering and giving each other dirty looks. Their fight didn't seem to be as vocal, and no where near as severe as the men's. Nobody seemed to notice that the duo had walked in. Sasuke then noticed a pile of pink hair hiding in the corner, shaking with fright and tears.
"Sakura-chan!" Sasuke ran past the fighting adults and to his friend. Sakura looked up at the sound of her name, and relief washed over her tiny body.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cuddled closer to Sasuke as he sat down beside her. The pinkette's tears streamed freely down her face. Itachi remained motionless, watching the scene with a mixture of annoyance, confusion, and amusement.
"What happened? I thought you went home?" Sasuke asked, having to yell a bit to be heard over the adults. "I was on my way home when I saw mommy and daddy running at me. They looked mad, but before I could ask what was wrong they grabbed me and dragged me back here." Sakura finished her story with another sob.
"They won't stop fighting. Make them stop Sasuke-kun! Please!" Sakura cried, her jade eyes locking onto Sasuke's black orbs. Sasuke looked at Itachi, begging with his eyes to help.
"ENOUGH!" Itachi yelled suddenly, annoyance clearing gaining dominance. Authority rang in every letter. The adults stopped fighting to stare.
"Can somebody please explain what the heck is going on here?" Itachi demanded to know.
"These Haruno-temes think they can just walk into our home and make demands! Well I am an Uchiha, and I won't have it!" Mr. Uchiha ducked as Mr. Haruno swung a punch.
"Watch who you're calling teme you baka!" he spat.
"Don't call my husband a baka!" Mrs. Uchiha snarled at Mr. Haruno. Sakura's mom didn't take that well, and the next thing you know all heck has broken loose. Sakura ducked into Sasuke's chest, hiding her tears. That was when they finally noticed Sasuke.
"GET YOUR DISGUSTING HANDS OF MY DAUGHTER!" Mrs. Haruno screamed, wrenching Sakura away from Sasuke's warm embrace. The pink haired girl stared up at her mother with fear, yearning to be back in Sasuke's protective arms.
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY CHILD LIKE THAT!" Mrs. Uchiha shouted back. It was clear that if something wasn't done soon, the adults were going to use jutsu. Mr. Haruno spat on every pair of Uchiha shoes, even Sasuke's, before dragging his wife and child out of the compound and stomping home. Mr. Uchiha looked livid.
"If you ever, EVER, go near that pink haired vermin again, I will beat you so hard you will not sit down again." He said slowly, his black eyes filled with fire. Those fire encased onyxes bore into Sasuke's frightened eyes.
"Oh, and Itachi, good job on taking care of those temes. I knew I could count on you!" As angry as he was, naturally Mr. Uchiha found time to pay his favorite child a compliment. Itachi didn't reply, but watched his brother as different emotions raged across his face.
'Sasuke is feeling very much. Fear, anger, confusion, the need to fix everything…these aren't the emotions that should burden an eight year old.' Itachi thought sadly, wishing he could help his beloved brother.
"Y-Yes father." Sasuke whispered, afraid of getting hit. So what had once been a perfect afternoon was now a living nightmare. Evening came, and an aura of hate lingered over the house. Visitors stayed away, and Sasuke spent the time lying on his bed. His father's words scared and angered him; they weren't justified at all.
'Who cares if the Uchiha are stronger then the Haruno or not?' Sasuke thought angrily as he stared up at his bedroom ceiling.
'I bet Sakura-chan's parents are yelling at her too. I wish there was something I could do to prove to her that we'll always be friends, even if our parent's don't agree…' then, a sly idea crawled into the young boy's mind. Though it would mean ignoring his father's order, Sasuke knew it would be worth it in the end. Inside a drawer, underneath all his clothes, was a hidden scrapbook.
There were pictures of Sasuke and Sakura in it, from the time they met until the most recent one, which had been taken earlier that month. After a moment of flipping through Sasuke chose the best one and slid it in his pocket, careful to avoid any bending or damage.
He carefully walked out of his room and down to the kitchen. The house was eerily quiet; Itachi had gone out to see Hana Inuzuka, his father was out drinking sake instead of taking anger management classes like the Hokage ordered, and his mother was….where? Where was Sasuke's mother?
((A/N: Sorry, couldn't help but throw that in. I never did like Sasuke's dad much…))
"Are you going somewhere, Sasuke?" A female voice asked as Sasuke pulled on his shoes. The black haired boy froze.
"Y-Yes." He answered honestly, turning around to see his mother. "You're not going to see Sakura-chan, are you?" Her eyes looked at him suspiciously.
"N-No mother. I merely wanted to go see the cherry blossom trees. Itachi said they were in bloom, and that they were pretty." Again he answered honestly.
"You wouldn't lie to me, would you Sasuke? You're like Itachi, you're a good boy, right?" his mother's eyes narrowed.
"I would never do such a thing Mother!" Sasuke looked her in the eyes. She nodded, accepting his answers as true.
"Have fun then, and be home before dark." She ordered before turning to wash more dishes. The minute his feet hit dirt Sasuke started to run. The cherry blossoms grew at the village's western districts, and the only person Sasuke knew that lived out this way was Naruto Uzumaki. As tempting as it was to stop by for a visit, Sasuke had to focus on the task at hand.
'Whoa! Big brother was right!' Sasuke thought when the beautiful cherry blossoms came into view.
'They're really pretty!' Now came the second phase of Sasuke's plan. He needed to get four perfect branches from the most beautiful tree. Sasuke scouted each tree carefully, looking for the one that lacked scratched trunks and barren branches.
Finally, after much, much searching, Sasuke found a tree that met his standards. It truly was the best tree of the lot, each petal bloomed to perfection. Sasuke looked at the lower hanging branches that were too far up for him to reach. Sasuke tried to climb the tree, but found he couldn't get very far. Sasuke sighed in frustration; he just had to get those flowers!
"Why so glum Sonny?" an old man asked, huffing and puffing as he used a wooden cane to march forward. Sasuke looked up at the white haired stranger. The man's skin was dark and very wrinkled. His clothes were that of a simple villager.
"I need four branches from the best cherry blossom tree," Sasuke said with another sigh.
"But I'm to small to get them." The old man smiled in an amused way.
"And what, pray tell, do you need four perfect branches for?" he asked. Sasuke revealed the photo. It was similar to the earlier situation; Sasuke was lying on the ground and Sakura was sitting on his back. Itachi had taken the photo, and both children were grinning, the sound of their laughter echoing in their elated faces.
"I need to make a frame for this photo; it's for my friend." Sasuke explained. The man leaned forward and blinked a few times; his eyes weren't as young as they used to be.
"Well, Sonny, that sure is nice of yeh. I guess old me can lend a hand." With surprising strength for such an old fellow, the man jumped up and pulled the nearest branch. It made a loud CRACK as it broke apart from the rest of the tree. The man continued to break the branch into four parts that were long enough to fit the photo.
"Here you go Sonny. Be a good boy, yes?" Sasuke smiled at the gentleman and nodded.
"Thank you!" He pulled out some string and started to tie the branches onto the photo. When he was done, both Sasuke and the old man admired the craftsmanship.
"Very nice, Sonny. Yer friend will like this much, I think." The old man nodded his head in approval. Sasuke thanked the man again before running with all his might towards the Haruno compound. He knew that if he were caught, he'd be better off dead.
But that only made Sasuke run faster, and when the sun went down he used the full moon as a guide. He neared the large Haruno home and for a moment he expected to be caught. His luck seemed to be going good, maybe a little too good.
Thankfully not a person was spotted, and Sasuke crept along the house's side silently. He had been over on many occasions, and knew which window was Sakura's. When he found the proper window, Sasuke was glad to see that if he stood on his tiptoes he could just barely tap the glass.
He tapped as loudly as he dared, hoping it would be enough to attract the attention of his green eyed friend. It was a relief to see the glass move upwards and strands of pink flutter in the late night breeze.
"Sasuke-kun? Is that you? My daddy'll kill you if he sees you here!" the pinkette hissed, fearing for her beloved friend.
"I have something for you! Something important!" Sasuke whispered back, holding up his handmade gift. He smirked to see the surprised look on her face. Sakura reached out, and with some difficulty, pulled it inside the safety of her bedroom. She disappeared for a moment, to better look at her gift.
She had a hard time seeing it, because she didn't dare turn a light on. But thanks to the moon, there was enough of a silvery glow for Sakura to appreciate the beauty of it. Sasuke heard her gasp in delighted surprise.
"Oh Sasuke-kun!" Sakura reappeared, her childish features practically out glowing the star lit sky. Sasuke's heart swelled with happiness and pride. Knowing that his mother would have a cow about him being late didn't seem to matter anymore; all he could picture was his wonderful flower as happy as a pig in mud. Sakura reached out and stretched her fingers. Sasuke, despite his sore toes, made himself stand tall so that he could reach back and grasp her hand.
"This is a promise made on a Sakura tree," Sasuke told her, his black bangs hanging down in his eyes. He had worked that line through is mind all evening, perfecting it to sound the way he wanted it to. To name the promise after the flower he was saying it to sounded right, like destiny wanted it to be.
Sakura looked down at her childhood friend, and had the urge to cry. She fought back the tears, at least for now. The moonlight made Sasuke's alabaster skin seem paler.
"No matter what our parents say, or how far their hatred goes, you and I will remain friends to the very end." Sasuke locked his eyes with Sakura's, and she yearned to bury her face in his silky spiky hair.
"Sasuke-kun…thank you." Sakura whispered. Her father coughed from his bed next door, and they could hear the patter of his feet as he stood up and walked across the floorboards.
"Sakura-chan…" Sasuke gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting go and backing into the darkness. Sakura quickly hid her gift under the bed and pretended to sleep. After her father was back in bed Sakura let a few tears escape down her cheeks, her silent sobs lost in the peacefulness of the night. She never wanted to forget that last image of Sasuke, pale and quiet as he clung to her hand.
'Don't ever forget me, Sakura-chan.' Sasuke thought as he watched her silhouette disappear. The young Uchiha turned and ran back to his house, where sure enough his mother stood waiting, ready to punish him. The boy sighed; he didn't care what happened now. Sasuke tried to brand Sakura's face into his memory as the woman before him started to yell.
A/N: This turned out so cute, I think! I feel kinda inclined to write more though, so I just might end up writing more. I want to thank everyone for reading, and apologize if anyone seemed OOC today. And, to clarify, this was suppose to be a very fluffy fanfic, so there were bound to be a few lovey dovey moments. At this age I suppose it's only a very strong friendly kind of love, not the kind they'd feel as teens. I tried to keep that in mind while I was typing, but all I really wanted to do was let 'em kiss and all that good stuff. Hopefully I did okay with keeping everything in order….