All creative thoughts on my other story "Her Fathers Daughter" have come to a screeching halt. one big problem that I really need help with is, should Kakashi be their sensei? As ponder over this aggravating question, please enjoy this strange new creation I have come up with. Try not to puke...

P.S. Naruto might be acting a little O.C., but I'll try to get his character better in future chapters. also, Sasuke is just a tad naive, but that will wear off in no time at all, so don't fret the small stuff and eat you veggies!

Friendship

Summary: Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura have been friends for a long time. Although they have different backgrounds, their friendship towards each other is undying.

Chapter one: Prologue- How we met...

Sasuke looked around uncertainly. He had accompanied his mother to the mall and had soon lost patients while she was busy shopping. He had unwisely wandered off and had soon lost his way. He had some how found his way outside and was know standing next to a large oak tree. He had absolutely no idea where he was and was starting to feel the spark prangs of fear. Shivering slightly, he dropped into a sitting position and brought his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his head on them. "I should have never wandered off. That was so stupid." He muttered as he tried to hold his tears back.

He was so preoccupied with thoughts of what to do he didn't notice the small girl standing in front of him. He jumped slightly when she spoke. "Are you okay?"

"Naruto! Hurry up! We don't want to be seen." A girl with pink hair shouted at a boy who was currently climbing down a tall cottonwood tree. The girls' name was Sakura Haruno. She was 8 years old. She had long pink hair that reached her waist. It was pulled back into a lose braid. She had bright jade eyes that caught a lot of attention and a slightly large forehead. She wore two finger-less black gloves on her hands that went up to her elbows. It was strange, but she was never seen without them.

The boy in the tree was Naruto Uzumaki. He was 8 years old as well. He had pointy blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. On his cheeks he had three whisker like marks that make him look fox-ish when he grinned. "I'm hurrying! This is harder than it looks ya know." Naruto cried as he finally reached the ground.

"Then why did it take you twice as long as it took me?" Sakura asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well…..You're skinnier than me and you can fit through the branches better. Besides, I haven't eaten yet. Remember, we skipped breakfast." Naruto muttered as he rubbed his growling stomach.

"Yeah, I remember. You won't let me forget. Or maybe it is because you are clumsier than I am that it took you so long." Sakura turned and moved into the shadows of the orphanages large brick wall.

"I think I think I like my reason better than yours." Naruto commented stubbornly as he to turned and followed Sakura, dusting away the leaves and twigs that had gathered in his hair.

Sakura snorted and glanced sidelong at him. "Yeah, only because it makes you look better and gives you a reason to complain. Oh, and I think you used I think twice."

Naruto smirked and said slyly, "I think you just did too."

"Maybe, but I have a right to cause I think a hell of a lot more than you do." Sakura commented with a laugh. She paused at the end of the wall and glanced around, checking to make sure they were not being watched or followed. With a past like hers, you learned fast to always check your back and to fight with all you had, which sometimes wasn't very much.

Sakura had grown up on the streets most of her life, and had only been forced to move to an orphanage recently. It was about two month ago actually. She had never known her mother, because she had up and left when she was around three years old. Her father had never told her why she left or what she was like. It didn't matter though, because Sakura really didn't care. She was gone forever and was never coming back. That is what Sakura claimed, but Naruto knew better. She cared, but had just never shown it much. She had never really cared much for her father. And that is probably why she had shed very few tears when he died. Her father wasn't exactly what you would call a respected man. He did what he could for a living, which sometimes wasn't very safe and even less legal. It ranged from theft to drugs to sometimes killing. He paid little attention to his daughter after she could care for herself, starting from about the age of 4 or 5. In the end he had been killed in some sort of dark alley shooting, the killers never found. During the time her father was alive she had learned many things on the city back streets. Fighting those bigger than you, knowing when you've been whipped, learning to run fast, and how to judge a persons character in a blink of an eye, theses just being a few. She went to school when she could and learned fast, very fast. At the age of seven she was already at the eighth grade level. Most things came easy to her, but she still tried her best, studying diligently at things she had trouble understanding. One thing she learned extremely fast was that pink hair, green eyes, and a pretty face standout way to much. Digging around in her moms' old stuff she had found her sewing supplies. It took a while but she finally made herself a mask and a sort of bandana to hide her face and hair. The mask was attached to a shirt and hides her neck as well. This way she could easily slid the mask on and off without drawing to much attention to her actions. The bandana could be used as a sort of head band. But when unfolded, it slid down to the end of her braid and could be twisted and tied in place around the braid. (I'm sorry, really bad description, but I tried. Just use your imagination.) It worked pretty good and saved her neck a few times. When her dad was killed, the police investigated, found out the man had a young daughter, had a hell of a time tracking her down, and sent her off to the nearest orphanage as soon as possible. It was here that she met Naruto Uzumaki, a very hyper and happy boy who had a past similar to hers. Only he had never known his parents and had lived in the orphanage most of his life. They had become best friends instantly and became inseparable. Anyway, back to the original topic of conversation.

Seeing no one, Sakura quickly slid on her mask and started to unfolded her headband. Naruto quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her from unfolding it further. "Remember Sakura-chan? We're just going to the mall. You'd look weird if you wore it in there." Naruto found himself doing this constantly. It seemed almost like a habit to the pink haired girl. 'I can kind of understand why she does this, but she must learn that her Naruto guardian will always come to her rescue.' Naruto thought this confidently. He had become quite fond of Sakura and had even developed a small crush on her….Scratch that. He had developed a LARGE crush on her and had become quite protective of her. She was the only person who treated her like a real person other that Iruka-sensei.

Sakura quickly stopped as she heard his logic. "Sorry, just a sort of a habit. Kind of hard to break…" Murmuring this, she quickly fixed the headband and pulled down her mask. Naruto was right. She no longer needed to be so wary. This was a much friendly neighborhood than the one she had grown up in, where you had to fight for your right to live and eat. Not to brag or anything, but she had had a pretty bad reputation for being amazing strong at her old home, despite her young age. She had found it in a book, along with some other stuff of her mothers. It was called chakra. Spirit energy, demonic power, aura, call it what you will, but she had harnessed it. Learned to control it. Made it a fighting weapon and a source for healing wounds. It was all in that book, along with several scrolls and other books. It took awhile, but she soon learned that you could create your own attacks by manipulating the flow of the chakra. Very few people had it where she came from, but here she had already met a few.

Naruto was the first. She had told him immediately that she had it as well when she found out. Naruto had been delighted, telling her that only certain people had it and could be trained to control it at a certain age, or so he had been told. After hearing this, she had asked Naruto not to tell anyone that she had chakra, or at least not yet. He had agreed instantly, happy to make her happy. This was one of the reasons she liked Naruto so much. One of the reasons she let him break down the barrier she had built up. He was so happy that it made her happy. He wasn't really nosy, but was always asking her if she was okay instead.

Later she had questioned Iruka-sensei about it. After that it had made a little more sense to her.

Flashback

"Iruka-sensei? What is chakra?" Sakura asked innocently. Iruka nearly fell out of his chair when he heard the question. Wield around to see the culprit, he found it to be the odd haired girl that had recently come to live here. He had known who she was instantly. The hair had given it away. Having known her mother extremely well, it was a shock to find out she had had a child. But know that he knew, it all made sense. It was obvious know. Why she had disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again. From the information he had been given, the girl had never known her mother. She had either died or disappeared when the girl was three. Then to add to the trouble, it turned out the adopted father had not told her that her mother was a ninja. That or he had never known himself.

After calming himself, Iruka planned his words carefully. It would not help to lay the truth on her all at once. So instead of answering directly, he decided to ask a question of his own. "Sakura, do you know what a ninja is?" Iruka asked not looking the girl straight in the eye.

"Ummm…Sort of. Why do you ask?" Sakura stated suspiciously. In her eyes, Iruka-sensei was acting oddly.

"I really don't think that you know the full truth about ninja's Sakura. Come with me and I will explain everything to you." Standing up abruptly Iruka turned and headed toward his empty classroom. Sakura followed eagerly, wishing to gather more information on this strange new subject that had suddenly arisen.

Opening his classroom door, Iruka side stepped to allow Sakura to enter as well. After she had entered the room, he closed the door and locked it with a soft click. Sakura noticed this immediately and turned uneasy eyes on Iruka. Noticing this, Iruka gave a soft smile. She truly was a sharp little girl. Just like her mother and street smart too. "I just want to keep away prying little ears, just to be safe." He said before turning and heading for his desk.

Sakura bought his answer for the second but did not allow her guard to go down. Following him to his desk, she took the seat that he had just placed in front of it. She watched carefully as Iruka sat down behind the desk. His eyes had lost their softness he used around the little children and had taken on a great seriousness.

"Sakura, I'm about to tell you something of great seriousness. I'm going to have to ask to keep what I tell you to yourself. Do you understand?" Sakura paused, thinking his words over carefully. After a moment or two she answered with a firm nod.

Sighing, Iruka leaned back in his chair. Closing his eyes he, started to work things out in his mind. After a minute or two, he opened his eyes again and began to speak. "Sakura, this is sort of hard to put in the right words, so I am going to tell it like a sort of story. Is that okay?" His sounded almost tired. Focusing his eyes on Sakura, he almost flinched as he looked into her bright jade eyes. They were so much like her mothers. They held so much intelligence, and at such a young age. Her mother was not like that at such an age. They had only changed when she had dug deeper. Deeper than she should have.

Sakura answered immediately, but not missing Iruka-sensei's microscopic reaction when he had looked straight at her. "Yes, that's okay." Then she two leaned slightly back in her chair and locked eyes with the man behind the desk. This time he really did flinch and averted his gaze to the ceiling. Closing his eyes, he let out a deep sigh and then began his story.

"In the beginning, there were many ninja villages. Each had their own special talents and skills. Some were weaker than others and some were stronger. Ninja's, or shinobi's as they are sometimes called, had the ability to use a force known as chakra. With chakra they could create and use attacks that are impossible for normal humans to use. Because of this, they were feared and sometimes even hated. As time went on, the ninja numbers declined greatly and fewer people were able to use chakra. Now there are only a few ninja family's left and they are only the strongest bloodlines. It is rare, but not unheard of, for a person who did not come from a ninja family to be able to use chakra. That is like your case. I know you can use chakra because you would not have asked if you couldn't. When you reach the age of 15, you will be sent with Naruto to the Ninja Academy in the Hidden Village of the Leaf, also known as Konoha. That is all I can and will tell you for now."

Iruka leaned forward, and then stood. "That is all for now. You are dismissed Sakura."

End flashback

That was all she could get out of the man. Honestly, he was like a 6 foot brick wall when he made up his mind. Strong, but not impossible to demolish with a few well placed punches. Sakura turned her thought outward again and noticed Naruto was talking to her.

"-and that is why I think we should get some food right away. This feeling isn't going to go away by itself, you know. I personally think four or five bowls of ramen would do the trick, but that's just my personal opinion. I might need more than that because- Sakura-chan are you even listening to me? This is my life we're talking about! It's important!"

"Naruto? Have you ever seen that boy before? He looks kind of lost…" Sakura asked as she gazed curiously at the black haired boy across the street from them. Naruto followed her gaze, then shook his head in reply.

"I've never seen him before. Come on, let's go. We're wasting time. Hey, Sakura-chan! Where are you going?"

Sakura quickly made her way across the street and stopped to look at the boy. He was wearing nice cloths, very nice. His hands were soft and held no calluses. He was clean and his hair nicely cut. Probably from a well to do family, and yet his eyes were kind, not like others she had seen that always had an "I'm better than you" look. He muttered something to himself and then drew his knees to his chest.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura slowly made her way in front of him, but he hadn't noticed her yet. He looked about her age and kind of cute, even for his young age. Smiling down at him, she asked "Are you okay?"

She didn't mean to frighten him, but he struggled to his feet as quickly as he could, with a look of fear on his face. Not wanting to make the wrong impression, she quickly added, "Not that it's my business, but you just looked kind of lost. Ummm…do you need some help? Naruto and I were just heading to the mall, but I'm sure we could show you where to go if-"

"No-no wait, I mean yes! I want to go to the mall with you. That's where I need to go." Sasuke struggled to say as he watched the girl smile at him again. Glancing behind her, he saw a young, blond boy standing behind her. Naruto, he guessed. The blond was glaring at him, for some reason he didn't know yet. The girl started to talk again, drawing his attention back to her.

"Great, let's go then. What's your name? I'm Sakura." Sakura started walking down the street with Naruto to her right and the black haired boy to her left.

"My name is Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha. It's a pleasure to meet you." Sasuke said the greeting quickly, in a well rehearsed tone showing that he had been taught manners. He barely caught the amused smile of the girl and the sneer of the boy. Giving them a confused look, he asked, "What's wrong? Isn't that how you are supposed to greet people you have never met before?"

Sakura smiled kindly at him and then explained, "Maybe for a blue blooded person, but not to a total stranger you just met on the street. Sometimes the only greeting a person will give you is a growl to be quiet and a knife to the throat. If you have to remember something, remember this. Your name is yours and yours alone. Don't give it away like it was nothing. You will have it for the rest of you life so use it wisely."

Sasuke stared wide eyed at her as he thought over this new concept. After a second he said, "I've never heard of it that way before. I was always taught to be polite and greet people like I said to you."

Sakura shrugged, before answering. "When they taught you manners, they probably didn't think you'd be using then out on the streets. And another thing, I wouldn't go around claiming to have been educated in manners, or education in anything for that matter. It's best to play stupid for as long as possible then make your move."

Sasuke looked back up the street they were walking on as he turned what she said over in his mind. When finally he spoke, it was in a low voice. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Sakura answered without a second thought. "Because I want you to live."

Naruto stopped in his tracks when he heard this. His face was filled with confusion. Why was his Sakura talking to this total stranger and giving him tips on how to survive in the streets. It made no sense. Running to catch up with the two, he finally made his voice heard.

"What are you thinking Sakura-chan? We don't even know this boy. It's not like we'll ever see him again." Naruto shot a glare at Sasuke, who glared back just as strongly. Sakura just smiled and shook her head at them.

"Are you sure Naruto? You're jumping ahead of yourself again." Sakura said, and then ran ahead, leaving the two boys looking confused and rather flustered. Sending one last glare at each other, they too speed up, trying to catch up with Sakura, who already had a head start on them.

They reached the large entrance to the mall in less than ten minutes. Sakura stopped here and waited for the other two to catch up. Once they had caught their breath, they quickly walked through the large doors and made their way to a deserted corner to figure out where they would go.

"I say let's get some food. I'm starving." Naruto said with a hopeful look at Sakura. She smiled at him, but then turned to Sasuke.

"It's up to you. You said this was where you had to go. Are you looking for someone?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke just shrugged. "Mother probably hasn't even noticed I was gone yet. I say let's get food." Naruto grinned at him in appreciation. Sakura just smiled.

"Then it's settled, food it is."

"RAMEN!" Naruto shouted happily and then set off for this favorite ramen stand. Sakura and Sasuke followed at a slower pace so they wouldn't attract any more attention.

Once they were at the restaurant and had ordered their food, Sasuke paused to examine his two new friends. They were… different, to say the least, from anybody he had met before. For a first, their cloths were not…new. They were ripped, stained, faded, and old. He had never seen cloths like them before. Everyone in his family, and those that were friends of his family, dressed in nice cloths that were new. It had never occurred to him that they could look any different, the cloths, I mean.

Also, Sakura's hair was…odd. He had never seen hair that color before. It was pretty and unique, but he saw many people pause to look at it curiously or with distaste during the short time he was with her.

Taking a dainty bite of his ramen, or so Naruto called it; he found it quite good, but still different from most food he ate at his own home. Speaking of Naruto, he was different as well. Turning his eyes to the boy, he almost choked on the small amount of food in his mouth. The blond was practically inhaling the food, and yet still managed not to choke.

Taking another bite of food, he shrugged the strange sight off. Maybe this was how all people from the outside ate. He, himself, had been forced to learn the manners of eating, and to this day he still cringed at the mere thought of all those grueling hours sitting in the exact same position with a fork held delicately in one hand and a napkin in the other.

When the meal was finished, they all paid and made their way to the store Sasuke last remembered his mother shopping at. As he came to the entrance to the store, he stopped and turned to his two new companions.

"We will meet again, won't we?" Sasuke asked with hopeful eyes.

Sakura smirked and replied in an amused voice, "That's up to you. Tell us where you live and we'll come break you out when you have the time. Then we'll have some real fun." Glancing at Naruto, he saw the loud mouthed boy grin in agreement.

"That's right! Next time we meet we can have a battle and see who is stronger!" Naruto shouted fiercely, eager to fight this boy who his Sakura had taken a strange fondness of.

Sasuke nodded, silently accepting his challenge. Turning to his eyes on Sakura he said, "I live at the Uchiha Compound on Sharigan Street. I'll meet you at the large oak tree at the beginning of the street next Wednesday. You can't miss it. I'll see you soon." With that farewell, he turned and went off to search for his mother.

"Bye." Sakura said, and turned to leave as well, but was stopped by the wide eyed Naruto.

"Did he just say he lived at the Uchiha Compound?" When Sakura nodded, he grabbed her by the shoulders and whispered in a slightly fearful voice, "That's the richest place in town. The entire Uchiha Clan lives there. They are the strongest and largest ninja family, rivaled only by the Hyuuga Clan. Do you know what we just did? We just offered to break him out of the highest security place on the face of the planet. It's practically a city in a city. It's huge."

Sakura just grinned at him and said in a smug voice, "Since when did you actually think about what was going to happen in the future? Are you chickening out on me, my fearless Naruto guardian? If we don't break him out, you won't get to fight him. Just remember that." Flashing a grin at him, with a challenging look, she started to run toward the entrance, with Naruto on her heels.

Well...Hope you liked it. As you might have guessed, I didn't just very much effort into it. I will if some very kind hearted people would give me some interesting suggestions, Cough hint cough cough.

cya

Skyward