Chapter 1: Before

Before, Sasuke and I... we used to be friends. Best friends, actually. I know, hard to believe. How can anyone imagine, a cold-hearted, arrogant person be friends with a bubbly, loud-mouthed girl like me?

Let's take it back to the day we met, the most fortunate and happiest day of my life.

I was maybe 5 to 6 years old when I met him. I remember exactly what I was wearing. An orange v-neck sweatshirt with a blue clip pulled to the side of my hair. Right when class was over at the academy, I head straight to the woods since I didn't have anything better to do. I went straight to a forest and I remember I was searching for pretty flowers, specifically those rare tulips that I don't get see that often.

I went through many bushes trying to find those tulips, but couldn't find a single thing. I was getting frustrated so I turned around, heading towards the exit. But where exactly was the exit? A repeatedly thought came to my 6 year old mind while running around literally in circles.

I stopped and rested. I had to think and retrace my steps, but the whole forest was all confusing.

"Watch out!" A screeching voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked upon where that scream came from and as I looked up, I was suddenly collided against someone. I shut my eyes and my back hit the ground. He roughly pushed me on the floor, hurdling under him as he covered his whole body on top of mine. He had both of his hands landing firmly on the ground.

I opened my eyes as my face flustered in surprise. He was looking at me concernedly and cautiously, making sure I was okay. His face looked so innocent and so pure as his black jet bangs framed his whole face perfectly.

I've realized that I was admiring his appearance too much and not even focusing why I was even pushed to the ground.

"H-Hey what's your deal? Pushing an innocent girl to the ground?" I angrily blurted out to him.

Surprised at my words, he moved his head to the left. "Take a look yourself." He responded.

I followed his eyes as I markedly looked astonished at what he pointed out to me. There were two kunais stuck against the tree, right in front where I was standing, suggesting that if I didn't move out of the way before, it would've hit me.

He finally got off from me. He held a hand out for me, but I shrugged and rejected his offer.

I saw him frowned a little bit. He turned his head to the side and called out,"Nee-san! You almost hit her." He scowled.

I turned my head as I saw an older guy, walking towards us. He looked exactly like the boy next to me. He had a friendly expression on his face as he had a genuine smile.

"But I didn't." He smirked. He ruffled the boy's hair, giving a light chuckle. "I knew you would run to save her in time." He said, turning his attention towards me. "Sorry about that."

I rolled my eyes, "It's fine."

The older man chuckled once more. He let out a sigh, "Why are you out in the forest here alone?" He asked curiously.

I took a step back, realizing the situation I was in. "I-I got lost." I answered nervously as I cleared my throat. "I was trying to find these rare tulips, but unfortunately, I couldn't find a single one." I complained, crossing my arms above my chest.

"Rare tulips?" I heard the boy my age repeated. Suddenly, an immediate notion came to his mind. "That's right! I think I've seen some around this forest." He remembered, already glancing around. He ran to the bushes, examining all of them.

I followed behind him, observing him. Now that I think about it, he looked oddly familiar. For most part, he has that weird chicken hair that stands out from the back. I think I've seen that hair somewhere before and made fun of it before. He was wearing a black hoodie with his clan symbol on the back.

'Where did I seen him before?'

"Hey I found one!"

My eyes widen in surprise. He was running towards me, holding the actual plant. "No way! Where did you find that?"

"Over there." He pointed to the area that were filled with many more tulips. He handed one of them to me.

I grabbed them in surprise. It was so beautiful. I glanced back at him. "Thank you.. um.."

"Sasuke Uchiha." He said and then he smiled. His smile lit the room and filled that darkest dwellings with a beautiful glow that radiated from him. His smile was truly a beautiful smile.

I smiled back at him with reassurance. "My name is Ino Yamanaka."

Ever since that day, a new friendship bloomed.

We went to the same academy together. How amazing was that!

"Y-You.." My face began to feel hot. "You're enrolled to this class too?"

"Duh. Why else would I be here?" He stuck his tongue at me as he scooted for me to sit.

That seat at the top became our seat. Everyone knows that was our permanent seat. We basically paid less attention in class and always talk way too much.

"Uchiha and Yamanaka! Be quiet back there!" Iruka-Sensei would always scream at us.

Even when we weren't allowed to talk, we passed notes because we couldn't go a second without annoying the crap out of each other.

Literally, every time class ends, Sasuke and I would frequently have the time to hang out after school whether it's his house or mine. It became a habit, which we take turns each day. His brothers knows which day he would pick Sasuke up and likewise with my dad.

I like going over to his house. His family were so welcome and treated me with kind hospitality.

His home was my second home. His family was my second family.

His mom would always have that look in her eyes that beamed very brightly every time she saw me walking in her front door.

"Ino, darling!" Her sweet voice chimed through my ears. "Welcome home!" She would consistently say.

Even though, Itachi's and Sasuke's dad was harshly strict on them, he was still a caring father. I could tell of how much he doubled check if Itachi was doing good with his training and how Sasuke was managing at school. He was a proud father, always looking out for his loving sons.

Itachi treated me as if I was a little sister to him. He looked out for me and even helped me with my assignments for school. I know Sasuke looked up to him and wanted to be just like him: strong when it comes to combat, incredibly intelligent towards stupidity situations, and most important, kind-hearted to his loved ones. I could never imagine him hurting anyone.

"Nee-san, where are you going?" He ran to the front steps as where Itachi was standing. "I thought you were going to help me practice on my shurikens." He said, pouting a bit.

I saw him lift his fingers as he flicked his forehead. "Not today Sasuke, another time."

His cheeks burned. He looked at me, wondering if I saw that and once he knew that I had witness that scene, his face turned into embarrassment.

He tried to ignore it. "You always say that."

I joined the two, sitting down beside Itachi. "Come on Itachi-nee! You're always busy! Can you stop being a ninja for one day?" I pleaded, giving him the most heart-dying puppy face.

He smiled and patted the top of my head. "Sorry Ino. It's all up to you to help Sasuke." He uttered, letting go of his hand. His voice sounded solemn for some odd reason. He got up and left the household.

We watched his back until he was out of our sight.

I heard a loud thud on the wooden floor. I turned my head behind as the raven-hair was crouched down on the floor with his fist clenched. A broken wood that formed a hole was now displayed.

"Sasuke! Ino! Lunch!" His mom called out for us.

This friendship with the raven-hair has been the most exciting friendships I've ever shared with anyone. Moments I know I'd keep somewhere special.

But then.. things changed. Everything went crashing down... And I couldn't stop it from increasingly going downward.

Sasuke... something terrible had happened to him. He didn't show up to class for 3 days which I thought was very odd because he never missed a day. I talked to my parents of the absence of Sasuke, although they told me they didn't know what happened to him, they were definitely hiding something.

I went straight to his clan. When I got there, I couldn't believe what I saw. I dropped to my knees with disbelief.

I covered my mouth as tears began to flow through my eyes. "What's going on?" I whimpered.

Right before my eyes, the entrance of the clan had a caution tape, "Do not trespass. Incident occurred", surrounding the whole place.

I stepped a little closer towards the entrance. I thought I was dreaming. I saw many dry bloods on the floor. I turned around quickly, when I witnessed many dead familiar Uchihas' bodies. I may be young, but I wasn't stupid. This was a massacre.

"Is S-Sasuke..." My voice trembled as I sat on the floor.

"Sasuke isn't dead."

My eyes widen, realizing who it was.

I stopped crying and whirled around to face a guy in all black. He looked upsetting at me, noticing my tears. He looked down on the ground. "He's the only Uchiha survivor."

"Itachi-nee! Who did this!" He looked different. His whole appearance seemed different.

Suddenly, he activated his sharingan. And then the next thing I knew, I was in a trance. I was in a different world with just the colors of black and red. Too much red.

I don't know where I was walking to. But..

I saw everything.

After a week of him not showing up, he finally came back.

I was rushing to the hallways and frequently checking the time of how late I was. By the time I got to the door, I felt someone's shoulder brushed against mine, trying to get in at the same time as me. I glanced up to the person who bumped into me.

I stood there motion less and paled, raising a hand to cover my beating heart as I took in the scene in front of her.

He was looking down hard on the floor. His posture was different. His hands were clenched to a fist.

My heart beat was all I could hear. Standing in front of me was no other than Sasuke Uchiha. Tingling sensations were flowing everywhere my body.

I sweat dropped as he lifted his head up slowly.

His eyes... they weren't the eyes I met back at the forest. No, they're much different than that. It was cold and full of hatred. His facial expression wasn't right. He never showed me such a horrific expression.

He never glared at me, not even once. I didn't even think he had it in him.

I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes until I saw nothing but sparkles. I tried to speak, but no words would come out. What can I honestly say to someone's who so broken inside and out?

The only words that I could think of were, "Who are you?" My voice came out raspy. I didn't mean to say that. I didn't know why I even said that in the first place. It's just that my mind was full of shock that I don't want this person to be Sasuke... the Sasuke I know.

He glared at me with those cold, cold eyes. "I'm an avenger."

He turned around and headed straight inside the class. He didn't look at anyone, but everyone was watching him.

"I heard he's the last Uchiha.." I heard a guy whispered to his fellow classmate.

"Really? His whole clan are dead?" He whispered back.

"Yup. He's pretty much alone."

Iruka-Sensei didn't say anything when he walked in. He didn't need to anyways.

Instead of sitting in his original seat, he moved to the front. Way in the front.

I frowned, placing my bag back on the seat.

As Iruka-Sensei went back to teaching, I saw Sasuke writing word for word for every words that was coming out from his mouth.

When class was over, I gathered my things quickly. By the time I finished, I looked up and scanned the room, realizing that the raven-hair had already left.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. "Give him some time."

I turned around as I saw Iruku-Sensei standing behind me, with a sadden look.

So I did. I gave him time. A lot of time actually. I stopped trying to communicate with him because even if I did, I knew he wouldn't say anything to me. And that's completely understandable. But a part of me pretty much died. How else would I get used to this routine of not being with him?

The answer is: I did get used to it.

It's been several months since I actually talked to him.

Every day, Sasuke pretty much avoided me. He didn't talk to anyone, he didn't give the time of day. He hung out alone and ate his lunch all by himself.

Apparently, all the girls in my class were obsessed with him and did anything to get his attention. But all he did was glare at them till they felt threatened or scared.

I couldn't save Sasuke from the darkness. I couldn't do anything to keep his mind off of what happened that night.

He's not that cheery and carefree person I know anymore. No, that person was lost somewhere inside of him that I know would take an infinity to find.

He couldn't trust me and he didn't let me in. He could have let me help him and get him back on track. But he didn't. He forgot that I could be his joy. He forgot that I could bear all of his sadness he had in him.

He forgot about... me.

And that's perfectly okay.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry if this chapter seemed depressing or sad, but I promise chapter 2 would be different.

Please, please review!