» Chapter one: Introduction
"Ino-chan! Ino-chan! Wait up!" a young Haruno Sakura called after her best friend as she ran towards a playground.
The blonde turned around and smirked. "You're too slow, Sakura!" she told her. "You've got to keep up!" She placed her hands on her hips as her pink-haired friend reached her.
Panting slightly, crouched over and hands on her knees, Sakura said, "Nyaa, Ino-chaan~ You can't go so fast."
Rolling her eyes, Ino turned around and waved to her other friends. "Hey guys!" she called. "We're here!" The young girl skipped over as Sakura followed obediently.
Sakura stood around as her friend chatted with the other girls, watching the other kids play on the equipment. Suddenly, she noticed a blond, spiky-haired boy surrounded by several other young boys.
"I just want to play with you guys!" the blond said desperately. "Why won't you let me?"
"Go away, you loser!" Sakura heard one of the other kids say. "We don't like you!" She watched as the crowd scurried off, leaving the blond boy alone.
She turned and faced her friend, and gently tugged on her shirt. "Ino-chan?" Her friend looked at her. "Who.. who is that kid over there?" She pointed the lonely boy sitting by a slide.
Turning to face Sakura, Ino grabbed her by the shoulder and waggled a finger in her face. "His name is Naruto," she told her. "But don't, I repeat, don't talk to him. It's social suicide!"
The rosette gave her friend a weird look. "But—"
"Don't, okay!" Ino repeated. "Don't talk to him. In fact, don't even look at him." Then she let Sakura go and walked after her other friends.
Sakura stared after her for a moment before looking at the blond one more time. He seems so lonely… she thought. And… sad. What could he have done that was so terrible that no one likes him? She kept her gaze on him for a few moments before running after her friend, still deep in thought about the lonely blond boy.
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