Mirror

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter One

The bell rang and straight away students filed into the classroom. Sakura Haruno was one of those students though her uniform didn't look it. Instead of the usual white blouse that the females of the school wore…this particular uniform was smudged with dirt and grass. Her hair stuck out in irregular directions and most of it was covered with sticky mud.

She grinned at her friends who shook their heads in unison. The green-eyed teen was playing soccer with the boys again. It was okay at first, when she took interest in the sport. She only played once a week and spent most of her time talking and laughing. As the weeks went by, she started kicking the ball even more and ended up loving every moment of it.

She still hung out with the girls of course—just not every lunch. Sakura had even convinced Ten Ten and Ino to play once. It was a horrible experience though Ten Ten later admitted that she quite liked it. Now they were close friends with some of the boys and enjoyed the attention they got from the other girls. Not that they would ever admit it…

"Miss Haruno, please remove yourself from my sight at once. Get yourself cleaned up before you walk into my classroom!" Everyone giggled as Sakura glared and stalked out of the room. Iruka-sensei was taking it way too seriously.

Sakura knew she shouldn't have played with the guys today but it was just too tempting…

Pushing the bathroom door open, she stepped in front of the white sink and turned on the tap. Cool water splashed over her hands and she brought it to her face, ready to wash off the muck. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer to the toilets. A loud screechy voice could be heard over the water and Sakura quickly turned it off and then launched herself towards the cubicle to her right.

It wasn't that she was scared of the girl coming closer—hell, she didn't care about the girl at all—it was the girl's loud mouth she was scared of. That tongue could twist any rumors and make it as insulting and humiliating as possible.

"…So then Neji looked in MY direction and waved—isn't that so hot?"

"Ummm…I thought he was waving to that girl Tenting or something—"

"Ughh—shut UP Ami, it doesn't matter cuz then this pinky came up and took the ball from him! It was totally mean and she deserved it when he tackled her and tripped her over!"

Sakura grit her teeth in anger. It was an accident and everyone knew it. Neji had tried to get the ball from under her feet but wasn't careful and tripped her over. He had apologized afterwards and she had forgiven him. That girl had no right to criticize her soccer skills.

Sakura peeked through the gap in the doorway and saw a flash of red. She knew it. Karin paced around the bathroom then stopped in front of the mirror above the sink. She pulled out a makeup bag and applied some red lipstick on. She smiled at her reflection, then her face crumbled into a horrified expression.

"Well it IS soccer…" Ami began, but was overtaken by Karin.

"I know—that pinky just wants to get closer to the boys—and, and Sasuke-sama! I knew it, that ugly slut…but, that doesn't matter once he sees my new haircut…don't you just love it?"

Ami shuddered but put on a sweet smile when Karin turned around. "I think it's great."

Hearing the compliment, Karin whirled around to finish applying the make-up on. Finishing with the eyeliner, she moved on to the mascara when Ami decided to redeem herself with some more gossip.

"…But, you know…that girl has a really bad sense of fashion-I mean, did you see what she wore last Mufti Day?- And she has a totally stupid haircut…and…I bet she dyed her hair—yeah, that's it, I know she dyed her hair!" Ami grinned triumphantly at her lie. She knew Karin would spread the fake news and then she'd be in her good books again. She new Karin was still angry about the last incident when she cut off some of her hair after the redhead laughed about her dead goldfish. Ami apologized again and again after that and she still felt Karin giving her the cold shoulder at times.

As predicted, the red haired teen spun around yet again to face Ami, who was now situated in front of Sakura's cubicle, leaning on the door. "You're absolutely right! That pinky—or not pinky—will be totally screwed when we spread the news! C'mon, let's get out of here…the rest of the posse will want to hear about this!"

Screwing the cap back on the lipstick (Karin had decided that she needed another layer), they both strutted off, giggling evilly at the same time.

Sakura slowly crept out of the cubicle after she was sure they were gone. Unconsciously lifting her hand up to her messy hair, she walked to the mirror and stared at herself. Her eyes traveled from her pink locks that were still covered in mud, down to the dirt-streaked blouse and stopped when the mirror ended abruptly at her waist.

I'm not that ugly am I? I mean, I know I'm not the best at choosing clothes, but it's not like I don't shower or anything…

Snapping back into reality, Sakura turned the tap on and splashed her face with the cool liquid. Wetting her hands, she combed her hands through her and tried in vain, to relieve her locks from the mud and grass. Finally quitting, she convinced herself that most of the dirt would wash out at home anyway and stomped out of the bathroom, her mood decreased considerably.

Sasuke scowled and pushed some of the girls aside. They had somehow followed him home and were now screaming out confessions or marriage proposals. Taking no interest in them, he quickly marched up to his front door and staying calm, wrenched the door open. Stepping over the threshold, he sighed and rubbed his throbbing head.

Today was like any other day, boring and more boring. He smirked when he thought of the only fun moment in school. Lunch. Or what was on during lunch more like it. He remembered first becoming friends with the dobe and the first time he scored a goal. Ever since then, his group of friends had stuck by him all throughout high school and despite never saying it, he was glad the dobe was there for him.

Sakura. Only at times like these he thought about his long time friend. He had known Sakura since kindergarten but never really paid her any attention.

She had a high-pitched voice and was extremely annoying. There was nothing else to it. She was just like any other girl. Besides the fan club part. And the girly part. Sighing again, Sasuke crawled into his bed and settled down, letting sleep take over his handsome features.

She wasn't that bad when he thought about it. But definitely not his type…

At the Haruno residence, Mrs Haruno was preparing dinner. But the relaxing aura she usually had wasn't there, instead, in its place, was a worried one.

She bit her lip as she cracked the eggs one by one. She was at the moment, making a strawberry tart for dessert—hopefully, this would cheer up her daughter who seemed down when arriving home from school.

She recalled what had happened between the two when Sakura had entered the house.

Flashback

The door creaked as Sakura unlocked it and walked in. Mrs Haruno looked up from her crossword and smiled. "Hey sweetie, how was school?"

"…" Sakura didn't bother replying, pushed her bag off her shoulders and started climbing up the stairs to her room. That's when she noticed the dirt covered blouse her daughter was wearing. At the same moment, Sakura realized her mother's intense stare and started with her explanation. "Mum, look, I can explain…I was so bored…and Ino didn't want to sit around so I suggested—"

"On no you don't young lady!" Mrs Haruno knew what Sakura was about to say. "Not this time! I don't want to see you walking into this house with another stain on that uniform—this is your last chance Sakura Haruno!"

Her daughter just screamed back that she knew she was ugly, then stormed up the last few steps into her room, slamming the door without another word.

End Of Flashback

Pursing her lips, Mrs Haruno decided that she would try her best in the future to understand her complicated daughter.