Fyras14: Thanks to all that have reviewed this story...it makes me feel proud of it...well, this chapter will answer a few things concerning the prologue...they answers may not be straihgt out, but you will figure out why Sakura gets uncomfortbale at the mention of ninja in this chapter...

Anyway, here you all go...sorry for its shortness, but I wanted to dedicate another chapter for the part with Mizuki, and yes, Sakura will be there, too...but, for now, we are back to the ramen business once more. Haha...anyway, hope you all enjoy!

Please read and review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly, deleted.

Naruto and Co. dont belong to me...or who-knows how the plot would be moving about right now...

Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.

-Carlos Santana

-Chapter One-

-Free Bowls-

"Ramen!? That's all you eat every day?"

"Yep! It's so good, Sakura-chan!! All I need is ramen, ramen! Ramen!!"

It was back to the ramen, again. Naruto was merrily telling Sakura about his love for such…appetizing dish, that she didn't know what to think of the poor boy. For her part, Sakura still thought that ramen wasn't good to Naruto—also ignoring the fact that she worked in a place that sold that oh-so-delicious dish.

At least the boy liked his ramen, Sakura couldn't deny, watching as he finished the soup with such gusto, she ignored the slurping sounds he made despite them being rude. The blonde boy gave a satisfied 'Ah!', discarding the now, empty bowl aside, and going after the third, and last free bowl Sakura had offered him. As he began to take on the warm bowl of ramen, Sakura ventured to ask, "Do you even eat vegetables, Naruto?" Naruto finished slurping a trio of noodles, before responding with a nod of the head.

"Ramen has vegetables, too, Sakura-chan!" he protested, loud enough for few of the patrons nearby to hear. A look of dislike was their answer, as Naruto continued to wolf down the contents of the ramen bowl.

"How many…like," she counted two with her fingers. "two each bowl?" The blonde boy stopped eating, and seemed to think about what she had just said, before he cried out,

"Ninjas don't need vegetables!" As those words left Naruto's mouth, the pink haired girl's eyes widen, before she looked away, staring at her own ramen bowl that had remained untouched since she had begun her conversation with Naruto. It didn't take long for the blonde boy to notice the young girl's change, and he was quick to turn his attention away from ramen. "Hey, something wrong?" His answer was a calm shake of a head, before Sakura turned to face him, smiling sadly.

"Nothing…"

"You sure?" Sakura had to suppress a sigh, knowing full well that the blonde boy hadn't taken her 'nothing' as nothing, but something else serious entirely, managing to separate the boy from his precious ramen.

"Yes…it's…it's just nothing…I just…yeah…I just remembered," she got up from the stool she was sitting and fished her apron from where it lay on an empty table behind her. "my half-hour break is almost over,"

"But you haven't even touched your ramen!" Naruto protested, pointing an accusing finger at the evidence that stood before the pink haired girl, still warm and untouched. Sakura seemed to consider the undisturbed bowl before shrugging and looking back at Naruto.

"Well…since my half-hour break is over…and since I don't have time to eat…how about you eat the bowl instead, Naruto?"

"But, you said that eating a lot of ramen isn't healthy…"

"And you are going to listen to me?" she asked him, grinning. "Just eat it, Naruto…Teuchi-san wouldn't like the ramen left over…and besides I really need to get to work." Naruto seemed to take a moment to consider this, and after a couple of seconds, nodded happily.

"Alright! Thanks for the fourth free bowl, Sakura-chan!"

"Fourth already? Wow, you are fast…" Sakura smiled at Naruto, before she moved towards the other side of the counter to enter the kitchen behind it.

Still, it was fifteen minutes before the hour was up, but by then Sakura was gone, and Naruto was busy savoring his fourth free ramen bowl.

Sakura never knew that delivering a bowl of the "Super Special Recipe" to Naruto from old man Teuchi would be so hard. For starters, she really didn't want to deliver anything to the Ninja Academy, even if it was just food. It wasn't like she didn't want to see Naruto or anything like that, in fact, she had become quite close to the blonde in the few months they had known each other, and Sakura sincerely couldn't wait to see that smiling face decorating his features, holding out his ninja headband and crying out, "I'm a ninja! BELIEVE IT!!" Yes, she did want to see Naruto graduate, and yes, she did want to deliver the special ramen bowl to the boy. So, why was little Sakura-chan taking her sweet time, of about half an hour, to reach the Kohona Ninja Academy?

"I should really stop doing this…" Sakura murmured, as she gave another sigh and moved through the crowd less street heading towards the academy, whose roof she was beginning to show through the larger buildings within the village. "It was in the past…" she told herself, as she slowly moved through the street, before finally, after another couple of minutes, standing right in front of the great ninja academy of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and that, is when the voices began to haunt her;

"Hey, hey! It's that forehead girl!"

"Aah! She's a little sensitive! Too bad that won't stop her forehead from growing any bigger!!"

"Look, it's two size bigger today!"

"F-O-R-E-H-E-A-D! FOREHEAD GIRL!!"

"Haha!!"

"Hehehe!"…

Slapping her forehead, Sakura gave a low growl and muttered, "That was four years ago…it's all in the past now, Sakura…" she told herself, as she made her way towards the academy, and soon enough, she spotted many new ninja crying out in excitement, or just looking bored.

Parents polluted the area like flies, all crying out along with their children, or giving pats on their shoulders, with a small smile, congratulating them quietly, despite the ruckus around them. Some where even showing moves to their own children, amazing the new ninja with their majestic skills, until they realized that it wouldn't be a good idea to punctured some else's body. Sakura suddenly grew pale, as some of the new ninja set their gazes on her, as if remembering. She gave a sigh of relief when the ninja soon ignored her for the attention of their parents, but then, something else caught her attention.

"It's a good thing that boy didn't pass…" It was a woman, she was hidden well within the crowd, chatting with another woman as both looked at a nearby tree overlooking the crowd of happy children. The other woman nodded in approval as she sent a venomous look to said tree, which Sakura noticed held a swing, and upon the swing lay a young—Naruto?

"Yes…who knows how we would fare at the hands of that de--" The woman was soon interrupted by the first, hushing her before she said anything else and looking around the crowd to see if anyone had heard what the second woman was about to say.

"Are you mad!? What if the ANBU hear you!?" The second woman gave no reply, and both decided to hide back into the crowd of parents and ninjas, catching Sakura staring at them. They both offered indifferent looks her way, and then, disappeared.

What was all that about? the pink haired girl thought, making her way towards where Naruto and the swing where.

Sakura knew, since a young age, that she was amazing at memorizing things. She read at least two books a day in her spare time, memorizing their context without too much trouble, she could dictate whatever she read just two months after reading it. From books, Sakura learned many things, from medicine to psychology, but she didn't need to be smart to know that Naruto Uzumaki, the most cheerful, knucklehead, ramen-loving boy she had ever known, was upset, and not just upset, but downright melancholic.

…he didn't pass…he didn't become a ninja…and worst of all was that those two women had felt happy about him not being able to become a ninja.

"Naruto?" It came out weak, and shy even, but still it was loud enough for the blonde boy to hear. His sad face turned into a grin upon seeing her.

"Hey, Sakura-chan…" His greeting sounded sad, despite the hidden cheerfulness within it. She didn't speak, and it was the look she gave the blonde boy which was enough for him to let it all out. "…I…didn't pass…" Both youngsters stood silent, Sakura watching from the corner of her eyes as the ninjas and their parents left the grounds to go back home and celebrate. "I will have to repeat the year…ha…this is the third time I fail, too…you know?" Sakura didn't speak, but instead, settled herself next to him, by leaning against the tree, still holding the plastic bag with the hot bowl of ramen, which had loss its purpose as soon as the words, 'I Failed' flew out of Naruto's mouth. "I thought…" He was trying so hard not to cry, but Sakura didn't know how to calm him. She had learned that the best way to solve a problem of this sort was to let the emotions rain, to let it all out. But, then again…

"It's alright, Naruto…" her own voice surprised her, but she went on, nonetheless, getting a look of sad confusion from Naruto. "Despite what you went through…despite not…not passing and becoming a ni-ninja…you still didn't give up…did you?" Naruto was silent for a couple of minutes, but then, he smiled, and nodded his head.

"Nope…I didn't. I never gave up…because…my dream is to be…HOKAGE!!" Suddenly, the young boy cried, getting out of his swing and pumping a fist up in the air. Sakura suddenly smiled tenderly at Naruto's sudden enthusiasm. "Yeah! Yeah!! Sakura-chan! I won't give up!! Yeah, don't give up!"

"Yeah…you aren't like me at all…" Sakura muttered unconsciously, getting the two bowls that Teuchi had given her from inside the bag. Naruto, on the other hand, had taken notice of this comment, and was looking at her with worry.

"Uh…what do you mean by unlike you, Sakura-chan?" Sakura didn't respond right away, but instead, shoved the ramen bowl straight into Naruto's arms, as she put down her own on the ground.

"Eat, and maybe I'll tell you a story," she told him, smiling sadly as she got out the chopsticks from inside the plastic bag. She threw the chopsticks his way, and then, both began to get rid of their own food, with Naruto carefully dedicating time to slurp the delicious noodles, as he told Sakura stories about his class, stories she herself wish she was telling him, too. But, unlike Naruto, Sakura had given up.