I really hope you like this.

In this story line, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto interact with one another and they might be love spreading in between them. But between who exactly? SasuNaru? SasuSaku? SakuNaru? Or possibly...all of them??

Warning! Sasuke and Itachi will be a little OOC in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

They were seven years old when they first recognized each other.

They were in their first year of the ninja academy. All the children were either searching for their friends to talk to, or sitting in their assigned seats waiting for class to start, eager to learn and get over it.

On one corner at the back, a blonde boy sat completely isolated from the others, staring at the window with beautiful, lonely blue eyes. His name was Uzumaki Naruto. For some reason, everyone hated him and glared at him with terrifying eyes whenever he passed by the market. Women would hide their children from view and scurry away while men would stop whatever it is they were doing and glare, some would even curse him and call him a monster. He was an orphan who lived in a small apartment given to him by the Hokage himself, one of the very few people whose eyes didn't hold any hatred or grudge towards him.

On another corner in the front seat sat a pink-haired girl with a suspiciously wide forehead. Her name was Haruno Sakura. She held a distant gaze at the kids who were happily chattering with one another. She envied their friendship so much, since everyone she tried to interact with ended up giving her tears and bruises. Because of her unnatural hair color and wide forehead, she has been teased about them and made fun off. No one even glanced her way unless they were planning something. She tried her best to appear invisible to their eyes and be as quiet as possible, praying that this day will end in peace.

The last person had pitch black hair and deep onyx eyes. His name was Uchiha Sasuke. He looked more mature than the rest of the students, for he was dead serious on becoming one of the best ninjas Konoha has ever seen. He will train hard every day in order to catch up to his older brother and grasp his father's approval. Thought many tried to befriend him because of his looks and status, he ignored them all and focused wholeheartedly on jutsus and information that would aid him to become stronger. Therefore, he will never regard such people as friends.

There are some other children who also seemed to ignore crowds, but those three had one thing in common. They wanted to be recognized and respected by the people in Konoha, proving that they earn the title of a shinobi. Despite their young age, the three had sharp minds. The blonde child could think of a plan at the right time. Whenever he was cornered or in a hitch, he would think up of a plan that would get him out of the dilemma. The pink-haired angel had a photographic memory. At such a young age, she has already memorized all the shinobi rules listed in their nation and all the historical facts about Konoha. She could also read and write when she was only two years of age. Finally, the black-haired prodigy; his skill was beyond that of his age and his intelligence was that of a genin. He was able to defeat everyone in his class, making him take first place in all kinds of tests…all except one, in which the pink-haired angel occupies…the written tests.

A person would never know if their meeting was destiny or pure coincidence.

Naruto hated to go back to his cold house (not home), so he tried his best to stay away from it. The usual park he goes to was currently occupied by so many children and their parents. The moment he stepped foot into the park, the mothers stopped chattering and giggling with one another and stared at the boy with piercing eyes, as if his presence just ruined their day. Naruto quietly gulped and gradually left the park before anyone initiated a bad rumor about him. Once he was away from the crowd, his tensed shoulder relaxed, thankful that no one followed and called him undeserved names. While he was walking, he heard sobs a few feet away. He got closer towards the sound with careful eyes, wondereing who is crying out with such pain and why.

Sakura has always been teased about her hair and forehead, but today her attackers were a bit too violent with her. They pulled her hair so hard the roots started bleeding a bit. She begged them to stop but the more she asked, the more aggressive they became. How can they laugh at someone's misery was something her childish mind can never understand. Once they got bored of her, they said some snobby remark about her wide forehead before leaving her on the ground, laughing. Now she was all filthy and bloody because of the assault and she couldn't master the strength and courage to go to her parents and explain her predicament. She never told her mother about her problems in the academy, especially now when she was two months pregnant. Sakura's going to have to go through that on her own. It was then she noticed a pair of feet in front of her and closed her eyes in fear that one of her attackers has come back. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her teary emerald eyes and looked up at the familiar boy. It's him, the boy who her mother constantly glared at when she saw him walk by. He always had lonely eyes, just like now. She didn't know why, but she has always wanted to talk to him and give him a hug, because hugs always cured a person's heart. She saw the boy look at her and hesitate before saying something. When he started backing away, Sakura reacted. She didn't want to be alone right now.

"Um, Naruto-san, right?" She whispered in her small, angelic voice. Naruto jumped when he heard her address him and stared her with wide eyes. Why wasn't she reacting like everyone else?

Sakura waited patiently for him to confirm what she said, but it seemed he was reluctant to answer her. She did the only thing that would encourage him, she smiled.

"Naruto-san?" she tried again and this time, he nodded and looked at the ground guiltily, as if expecting she would be disgusted by him. She stood up slowly, wincing from the pain in her knee and slowly walked towards the scared little boy.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, you're in my class at the academy right?" she kept her smile and looked at the boy with fond eyes. Naruto backed away a bit more, confused with the girl's action; she was the first person who willingly approached him. Deciding to grab this rare opportunity, he quickly nodded and gave a tiny smile in return.

"Hai, It's me. Nice to meet you Sakura-san" he said with his small voice, but that was all what Sakura needed. She gave him a huge warm smile, surprising the older boy. She was so happy she could hardly take it!

"Sakura-san, don't you hate me?" Naruto blurted out suddenly. All his life, he has been treated as an outsider, someone to be feared and hated. Receiving a different kind of treatment is something that was not in his dictionary.

Sakura couldn't blame him. She'd seen how everyone treated him and she would understand if he was surprised and confused that a stranger would not show him the same emotions everyone does. She kept her smile in place though and held his warm hand.

"You never hurt me, so why would I hate you? Do you want to be friends with me? I…I don't have any friends here and I would be really happy if you agree to be mine" her voice lost its confidence in the end, afraid that he might turn out to be like the rest of the children and start laughing at her. To her shock, she felt Naruto's hand enclose on her own. When she looked at his face, she was surprised to find a huge, lope-sided grin.

"I would love to be your friend, Sakura-chan!" he said with much enthusiasm, warming Sakura's heart.

"Great! Nice to meet you Naruto-kun!" Sakura said with as much excitement.

On the other side of the small playground, Sasuke sat on the lonesome swing, staring at the two children who just became friends. When he saw the girl crying several minutes ago, he wanted to go and see if he can lend a hand in any way; she seemed to be in pain. Once he was about to do so, he spotted the blonde-haired kid do the job, and so Sasuke was contented on sitting and just observing. When he saw both of them smile, he couldn't help but do so as well.

"Sasuke? It is rare for you to smile like that." He heard his brother's voice beside him. Without thinking, he stood up swiftly and scowled at him "Aniki, you're late. You were supposed to train me today" Sasuke finished lamely. Itachi laughed openly as he ruffled his younger brother's hair.

"Tomorrow Sasuke, I promise. Let's go home." Itachi said with soft eyes. Sasuke smiled at him and skipped towards Itachi in order to hold on to his brother's hand.

"It seems like you were interested in them." Itachi suddenly said. Sasuke frowned and looked back at the kids he has been staring at for the past half hour.

"They're okay." He murmured. Itachi showed a rare smile and remembered how he met his best friend. He hoped Sasuke would find that in them.

Sakura and Naruto stared at the siblings walking away from the playing ground.

"Isn't that Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked a bit confused as to why he was here in the first place. Naruto frowned when he saw her attention somewhere else and held her uninjured hand.

"Let's heal your wounds Sakura-chan! Iruka-sensei is very kind and knows basic medical techniques! You'll be alright in no time!" Naruto gave his only friend a huge grin as he dragged her to his teacher's place. He will be okay. As long as Sakura-chan is with him, he's going to be okay. Her smile is so beautiful and warm; he is going to protect her with his life. He won't let some popular kid like the Uchiha bastard take her away from him!

Sakura smiled, pleased that she will be getting rid of her wounds. She can then go back to her mother and take care of her. Pregnant woman are always tired and it is Sakura's job to help her mother in everything. She will be responsible! Now, she has a friend who is so warm and doesn't judge her from her appearance. That was all she ever wanted. A picture of the black-haired boy popped into her mind and her smile grew even bigger. She hoped she would be friends with him too! He looked lonely too, just like Naruto.

When the siblings reached their house, Sasuke sat down in the garden, remembering the boy and girl in his class. The blonde-haired dobe was not like the losers who always showed off with their strength. The pink-haired girl was not like the other girls who keep flirting with him endlessly. They were special and different. Maybe one day, he'll be friends with them as well. Before thinking deeper into that, he shook his head vigorously. He's an Uchiha! And Uchihas don't need friends! Right?

Thank you for reading. Please review! there will be more of that later on!

Sadbird.