New chapter out already! I think I managed to write this pretty quickly. I try to explain and set up how this world works and how Shisui is a a character.

I don't have much to say, except I hope you enjoy the story, and that I absolutely love all the reviews I'm getting. They bring a smile to my face and encourage me to write more.

Next chapter will start getting more interesting!

She didn't understand how it happened. She had seen them spar before and no major injuries were ever sustained, until now. It was hard for her to believe Itachi had hurt Shisui bad enough for him to be hospitalized. She wished she was strong enough to hurt Itachi as much as he hurt Shisui, but that was an impossible dream for her.

Sakura and Takeshi visited Shisui every day, and this time, Sakura had insisted that they bring him some home cooked food. Unfortunately, as soon as she opened the door to Shisui's room, she saw Itachi. Thankfully, Takeshi was carrying the food because Sakura lost it. She ran to Itachi, trying her best to punch him and push him away from Shisui.

"Get away from him you bastard! What kind of friend breaks someone's arm that's already broken!" Sakura had tears in her eyes and didn't stop hitting Itachi.

She thought she caught a glimpse of sadness in Itachi's eyes but she didn't believe it. She thought she knew Itachi, he had always been caring to everyone but maybe he was just pretending when she was around.

"Princess, please stop. It's not Itachi's fault." Shisui pleaded.

"Then whose fault is it?" Sakura yelled and stopped her assault long enough to give Shisui her full attention.

Shisui hesitated and glanced at Itachi, almost looking for approval, but Itachi didn't move a muscle.

"It was an accident." Shisui lied.

Sakura didn't believe a word that was said. It was the first time she felt like Shisui was lying to her and it hurt her. She didn't know why he would lie to her, but then it clicked; he was lying because Itachi was there.

She thought back to how convinced Sasuke was that Itachi was better than Shisui and she didn't like the fact that there may be a truth to his statements.

She looked up at Shisui, tears still running down her cheeks, and tried to smile.

"You don't have to be scared of Itachi. I can go tell the Hokage that he hurt you badly. Maybe the Hokage can do something. I can tell everyone that Itachi is a meanie…" she trailed off.

Truthfully, she didn't think any of what she said would amount to anything but she was grasping at straws. She just wanted Shisui to be safe.

"Sakura-chan, can I speak with you in private." Itachi asked.

Her heart stopped and terror flooded her senses. She didn't trust Itachi to not hurt her, and she couldn't do anything if he attacked her. She looked at Itachi and backed up until she hit the wall.

She felt cornered like the night her leg was shattered, there was nothing she could do and a bad guy was walking towards her so he could hurt her. She saw the man with blue eyes - the object of many of her nightmares - as he approached her. She tried to scream but her voice betrayed her.

She fought back when she felt arms around her, but to no avail. Her legs gave out from under her and, had the arms not been holding her, she would have crumpled to the ground.

"Kura-chan, it's alright. I'm here, I'll protect you."

Sakura blinked rapidly and her tormentor was gone, she saw that Itachi had taken a few steps back to give her space. She took deep breaths - she had started holding her breath at some point - greedily taking in as much oxygen as possible.

She finally noticed that Takeshi was holding her close to him, rubbing her back in a soothing motion which helped her calm down immensely. After a few minutes, she was calm enough to look around the room and see Shisui with unshed tears.

"Who is Ikuro?" Shisui asked quietly.

Just the name sent shivers down her spine and petrified her. She didn't want to think of that man. She didn't want to think of that night. She didn't want to think of all the blood. She didn't want to remember all the screams.

"Kura-chan, why did you say that name?" Takeshi gently prodded.

She looked up at Takeshi and felt somewhat safe. He was there for her, though he couldn't protect her, he was there with her.

She looked down at her leg and gently ran a hand on it.

"He was the one…" she whispered low enough that all three boys in the room had barely heard her.

She missed Shisui and Itachi looking at each other and having an entire conversation just by reading each other's lips.

"Princess, you should go with Itachi. Takeshi can go with you, you don't have to be alone with him but, please just go." Shisui whispered just loud enough for her to hear above the pounding of her heart.

"No. I don't want to go anywhere with him." She spat out.

When she saw Shisui's tears fall down his cheeks, she scrambled over to him and hugged him. She didn't understand why Shisui wanted her to go with Itachi so badly, did he want her to be injured just like him?

"Please trust me, and go with Itachi. He won't hurt you." Shisui tried to reassure her.

His voice cracked and she could see he was pleading with her. She knew he wasn't lying this time and it was the only reason she nodded her head and gave Shisui one last squeeze.

"Take-kun, can you come with me?"

"Shisui, I hope you get released soon." Takeshi smiled at Shisui.

Sakura made sure to give Itachi a wide berth as she left the hospital room. She made her way out of the hospital and was confused when he didn't follow them. She tried to sense his chakra and noted that he was still with Shisui in the hospital.

It surprised her how far she could sense chakra, especially Shisui and Itachi's. She supposed she was just so familiar with those two that it was easier to sense.

They kept walking for several minutes until Sakura's chakra faltered and pain shot up from her leg when she took a step. She slowed her pace down drastically and took a few careful steps forward, testing out the pain from her shattered leg.

She almost forgot how paralyzing the pain was and it served to remind her that she would always have a handicap. On a normal day with Shisui, she would have been confident that she would overcome her injury, but it wasn't a normal day. She felt helpless and that she would never be able to advance through the ranks. She knew how strong Shisui was - not his full potential but she'd seen him spar and Akio had told her how amazing Shisui was - and to know that someone was easily stronger than him crushed her dreams.

"Kura-chan, Itachi is just up ahead." Takeshi laid a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and flinched when she noticed Itachi looking in their direction. She dreaded going to see him. She was afraid he would hurt them even more than he hurt Shisui, but she had to go see him. For Shisui.

She walked forward and winced the first step she took. Her chakra was starting to feel weird and she knew she had to stop using it. As if he could read her mind, Takeshi crouched in front of her and she climbed onto his back.

"Follow me." Itachi said curtly.

Takeshi followed him warily until they reached the Haruno household. Itachi stood there, looking at them until finally Takeshi asked him to come inside with them. To say Itachi was acting strange would be an understatement.

"Which room has a door and no windows?" Itachi asked quietly. He was speaking in a tone barely above a whisper which put Sakura even more on edge.

"No windows and a door? The downstairs bathroom." Takeshi answered slowly.

That's how all three of them ended up in the bathroom. Itachi crouched down while Sakura sat on the edge of the bathtub and Takeshi sat leaning against the bathtub.

"I can't tell you everything but I had to hurt Shisui. Sakura-chan, you know I would never hurt him, but this was Shisui's idea. Shisui… is vocal about his opinions and the clan often times disagree. Shisui thought it was best if I was the one to teach him a lesson instead of my father. I fear Shisui would end up hurting my father out of rage which would ruin our... plans."

Itachi bowed to her and Takeshi, and apologized. "I'm sorry, please forgive me, I didn't want to hurt him. If you can't forgive me, I'll understand."

She was speechless. Never in a million years could she have imagined that their conversation would turn out this way.

"Why did you hurt his broken arm? Couldn't you have hurt him less?" She asked.

"Shisui was the one to tell me where to hurt him. I only did as he asked, nothing more." Itachi explained.

The guilt and regret in his voice was hard to miss. She did feel bad for jumping to conclusions about Itachi. He had never shown an ounce of hatred towards anyone, never shown any ill intent and yet, she believed that he was capable of hurting Shisui. It went against Itachi's character but she didn't doubt the physical evidence and their story.

"Why did you and Shisui lie to me just to tell me the truth now?" Sakura asked.

"No one can know what really happened. We can't talk about this out in the open where others can hear us." He explained. "Neither of you can say a word about what I told you. I am putting my trust in both of you. If someone else finds out, I am afraid of what they will do to Shisui and me."

"Shisui and I." Sakura corrected and looked at Takeshi with a smile.

"No Kura-chan, Shisui and me is correct." Takeshi chuckled softly.

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms. She thought she knew when to say 'me' versus 'I' but clearly, she didn't know yet. She was startled when Takeshi ruffled her hair and couldn't help but lean into his touch.

She looked at Itachi to see him smiling at her. His soft gaze only reinforced the notion that he was one of the nicest people she had ever met.

"You'll get it right one day." Takeshi assured her, and she knew that she would rejoice.

"Can we visit Shisui again?" She asked her cousin.

"Of course we can."

"Are you coming with us to the hospital, Tachi-chan?" Sakura teased.

"I wish I could, but I have to go back home. Thank you both for listening to me and forgiving me." Itachi smiled and let Sakura tackle him into a hug - he did feel his eye twitch at the nickname though.

She noticed the difference in Itachi's shoulders when they first arrived into the bathroom and when they left; he seemed much more at ease and relaxed as they parted ways.

She was nervous even though she knew everything would be fine. She knew the quiz would cover what was taught the last few days, and she remembered it all.

It turned out to be very easy and Sakura completed the quiz first - as usual - and was able to leave early. She preferred it when the quizzes were given at the end of the day because they were allowed to leave once they finished. She had always been the first one finished and she felt giddy each time.

She laid her crutches on the ground and sat on the lone swing across from the academy entrance and waited for Takeshi. He promised to get her from school so they could go to the park together.

Sakura watched as some of the older students left. She hadn't previously paid attention to kids that weren't in their first year at the academy and she was surprised to see just how many kids attended the academy. There were several kids that had white eyes like the girl in her class, there were several kids that looked like a mix between Sasuke, Itachi and Shisui, and there were lots of kids who looked like they didn't belong to clans.

She startled a bit when she felt someone push her gently on the swing. She quickly looked back and saw that Shikamaru was pushing her with a bored look on his face but there was a slight smile creeping up.

"Thanks, Shikamaru. Do you think you did well on the quiz?" Sakura asked.

"Good enough to pass. You?"

"I think I got all of them right."

"Shikamaru you should try to be more like Sakura and put some effort into your school work." A deep voice stated from behind Shikamaru. She saw Shikamaru tense for a second and breathe out a troublesome.

"Dad, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that." Shikamaru drawled out.

"You'll learn to not be snuck up on eventually." Shikaku said. "You said you're a Haruno, correct Sakura?"

"Yes, sir." Sakura answered.

"I'd like it if you could come over one day. I have something that I would like to tell you."

At this, both Sakura and Shikamaru looked at the older Nara with widened eyes. This was the first time Sakura had ever seen Shikamaru surprised and show any interest in anything. She wanted to follow them home to find out what he knew but Takeshi would be arriving at the Academy at any moment.

"Let's go Shikamaru, your mother wants to go shopping with you."

Shikamaru and his father left after saying goodbye, and Sakura watched as Shikamaru walked even slower than his usual crawl.

"Sakura-chan! Did your class have a quiz too?" Ino shouted from the academy entrance.

She waited until her friend got closer before answering, not wanting to yell and gather everyone's attention. Sakura still felt a bit jealous of everyone that was able to run and she hoped it would eventually go away.

"I think I did really well on the quiz, how about you?" Sakura asked

"Hmm, I think we had different quizzes since ours was difficult, I don't think anyone except maybe Sasuke-kun and me did well." Ino surmised.

Sakura refused to think that Ino had just insulted her, instead focusing on the possibility that they had in fact gotten different quizzes.

"Takeshi-kun!" Ino yelled and Sakura turned around to see her cousin walking towards her.

Sakura watched as Ino's smile widened and she started blinking more rapidly. Ino also clasped her hands behind her back, and to Sakura, she looked like the picture of innocence.

"Hello, Ino, did you have a good day at school?" Takeshi asked.

"We had a super difficult quiz but I aced it. A lot of the kids probably failed it. How was your day, Takeshi-kun?" Ino swooned.

"It was a pretty relaxing day. Kura-chan, did you have the same quiz?" Her cousin asked her.

"We don't-"

"We probably had different quizzes since her teacher is usually nicer than mine. My teacher is very strict. Are you going to the park today, Takeshi-kun? We could play on the swings." Ino cut Sakura off and wouldn't stop staring at Takeshi.

"Umm, well, you see Ino…" Takeshi trailed off.

"We have to go back home. Mama wanted to spend time with us today." Sakura lied. She didn't like the way Ino was acting so strange around Takeshi.

Ino deflated and pouted while still looking at Takeshi. She took a few steps closer to him and Sakura didn't know what her friend was trying to do.

"Well, we could always plan to go to the park together another day, Takeshi-kun." Ino said while her cheeks flushed pink.

"I'm sure Kura-chan and I will be going to the park at some point soon. Have a good day Ino" Takeshi concluded and extended his hand to Sakura.

Sakura watched as Ino's hand twitched towards Takeshi's for a moment but ultimately fell back at her side. Sakura bid Ino goodbye but didn't receive a response from her friend until they had walked 20 steps.

When she arrived home, she promptly dragged Takeshi inside to start her questioning.

"What happened with Ino back there? Why was she acting all weird? You looked like you didn't want to talk to her."

"I think she likes me." Takeshi answered.

Of course Ino would like him, he was one of the best people she knew. Only weird people wouldn't like him.

"I think she actually has a crush on me." Takeshi added.

"A crush? So, she like-likes you like she like-likes Sasuke? She did look at you the same way she looks at him, and she was being very weird." Sakura pondered out loud.

"I don't think a girl has ever had a crush on me before. I don't know what to do!" Takeshi exclaimed.

"What's wrong Takeshi?" Sakura's mother asked as she entered the living room.

She had gotten used to her parents no longer calling her cousin 'Takeshi-kun' since they wanted their clients to take Takeshi seriously while they were talking business. The few times they had referred to him as Takeshi-kun, the clients dismissed him and thought it was adorable that he was helping his parents with adult matters.

"Ino has a crush on Takeshi!" Sakura blurted out.

Her breath left her as Takeshi picked her up and playfully threw her onto the couch. Sakura giggled and threw a pillow at her cousin as retaliation.

"Oh my! Sakura-chan, how would you like to have Ino as a sister? When Takeshi marries her, she will be part of the family." Mebuki teased.

Takeshi froze immediately and turned his head to face Mebuki with horror in his eyes. Unfortunately, he failed to see Sakura throw a second pillow and it hit him square in the face.

"I think it's adorable that Ino-chan has a crush on you. It's about time the girls notice how handsome you are." Mebuki complimented.

Sakura loved seeing Takeshi's entire face turn as red as a tomato. She rarely saw him flustered and, if she was being honest with herself, it was immensely entertaining. She waited until he buried his face in a pillow before she offered him a possible solution.

"I know a lot of girls do the same to Shisui and Itachi, maybe they could help you. I didn't know that so many girls have crushes on them." Sakura offered.

Takeshi's head sprung up and she could see the hope in his eyes.

"Where are they now?" He pleaded.

"I think they have a clan meeting or something tonight." Sakura pouted.

"They seem to have a lot of those lately. I never knew clans kept everyone so busy, though I would love to be a fly on the wall at one of these meetings to know what they discuss." Mebuki bemused.

"I don't like his clan; they keep him busy all the time. He's still a kid." Sakura complained.

"In the eyes of the village, a shinobi child becomes an adult much faster than a civilian child. Now that I think of it, you two will probably become adults at the same time." Mebuki stated.

"That means Takeshi-kun and Ino-chan could get married sooner!" Sakura yelled and smiled at her cousin. She didn't regret her teasing even when two pillows came flying towards her.

She was in love. In love with two different boys but that didn't matter. She figured she would eventually have to decide, but until then she would love them both equally. Though she had the advantage with Takeshi-kun since he was her best friend's cousin, she would eventually gain Sasuke-kun's attention and maybe both boys would chase after her at the same time.

It was a dream that Ino wished would come true. They both looked so different yet they were both so good looking. Sasuke-kun had that cool personality but Takeshi-kun had the best smiles. If she was forced to choose between them, she didn't know who she would choose.

She had missed the morning classes since she had her annual checkup with the doctor. Her father offered to walk her to the Academy but she refused, wanting to prove to her parents that she was growing up and could walk there on her own.

As she neared the Academy, the first thing she spotted was Sasuke-kun sitting by a tree, reading a book. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest due to her excitement. As she rounded the corner, she saw a group of girls not too far from him - it was the group of girls she usually ridiculed for thinking that Sasuke-kun would pay attention to them when she knew he would fall for her.

As she got closer, she noticed that Sasuke-kun was looking in a different direction than the gaggle of girls. What she saw made her heart stop.

Sakura-chan. Her best friend was acting just like the other girls and was looking at Sasuke-kun. And he was looking back at her. She was by herself and it was obvious she was trying to get Sasuke-kun's attention, and it had worked.

Ino felt the betrayal hit her like a kunai to the heart. Had Sakura-chan liked Sasuke-kun all along? The only thing Ino knew was that she didn't want to see her best friend that day.

"Mama did you start dinner?" Sakura yelled as she entered her house.

"I'm just about to start, what's wrong?" Mebuki asked.

"Nothing's wrong, but we got invited to the Uchiha house for dinner."

"Oh. Well that's good to know, I'll just make enough for myself then. It's good timing since I don't feel like cooking tonight, maybe I can get something in town then." Mebuki thought out loud. "Do you know when you'll be back?" Her mother asked.

"No, no, Mama, all three of us got invited." Sakura snickered.

She watched her mother's brow scrunch up in thought.

"All three? That's interesting, did Shisui tell you this? And where's Takeshi?"

"Shisui and Takeshi picked me up from the Academy and Shisui invited us. They're walking around town together now so Shisui can give Take-kun some advice on girls." Sakura laughed out loud.

"Don't tease him too much. You know he'll pay you back tenfold as soon as a boy shows any interest in you." Her mother reminded her.

Sakura wasn't worried about that; she doubted any boy would be interested in her when Ino was around.

Sakura had agreed with the two boys that they would meet up at the Academy to walk to the Uchiha compound together. The walk to the Academy with her mother was blissful. She rarely spent time with just her mother lately but she noticed that their relationship had gotten much better ever since her father died.

Sakura believed it was because her mother finally agreed to let her pursue a shinobi life and no longer provided any snide remarks. What Sakura failed to realize was how death affected both of them.

Mebuki didn't want to have a strained relationship with her only daughter - Takeshi counted as one of her own - while Sakura had finally started acting herself around her mother.

Sakura had never teased Takeshi in front of her mother before nor did she ever really share anything shinobi related with her either. Ever since her father's death, Sakura had started sharing more of her life, goals and thoughts with her mother.

Six months ago, Sakura would have hesitated to hold hands with her mother, but now she openly seeked that contact.

Sakura also learned a lot about her mother in the last few months. Her mother was similar to her father when it came to teasing; they both loved to tease. Sakura hadn't been on the receiving end of the teasing...yet, but she knew one day she would be and she felt a strange sort of happiness and eagerness for that day.

As they neared the Academy, Sakura felt a flicker of chakra behind her. At first, she ignored it but the memory of Shisui and Itachi telling her about their game came to mind and she turned around to see Shisui just a few steps away from her.

"Seems I have to hide my chakra better if I want to surprise you, Princess."

"Shisui, you startled me." Mebuki exclaimed.

"Sorry I was trying to sneak up on Sakura-chan, but she's too good." Shisui replied sheepishly

"I didn't know you would start sneaking up on me. That means I can try to sneak up on you too!" Sakura stated and hugged Shisui.

They reached the Academy and saw Takeshi standing there, waiting patiently.

"Did you surprise her, Shisui?" Her cousin asked.

"No, I will soon though, that's a promise!"

Sakura held her breath as Shisui knocked on the door. She wasn't used to being invited to other people's home for a meal, in fact the brunch had been the second time - the first time was when she had eaten with Ino, Shikamaru and Choji - not counting her aunt and uncle of course.

Mikoto answered the door again and greeted them. Once inside the two adults went to the kitchen and the kids went to the living room where Itachi and Sasuke were talking.

As soon as Sakura entered the living room, Sasuke's eyes widened and he pointed a finger at her harshly.

"You! You… you… you… meanie!" Sasuke yelled, startling everyone else.

Sakura knew exactly what he was referring to and couldn't help smile. She would never blame Shisui but his habit of teasing people had rubbed off on her.

"What happened, Sasuke? I can't picture Sakura-chan ever being mean to anyone." Shisui stated confidently.

"She.. Copied the girls in my class!" Sasuke continued yelling and pointing at Sakura.

Shisui scratched the back of his head, Itachi looked back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura and Takeshi just stood there with a smile on his face.

"Oh! Do you mean she swooned over you like your fangirls?" Shisui exclaimed with barely contained laughter.

"Yes!" Sasuke concluded.

At this, both Sakura and Shisui couldn't stop laughing and Shisui even had to lean onto a wall to keep from falling. Sakura explained to Takeshi what had happened and her cousin tried his best to stifle his laughter

"I'm s-sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean it, I won't do it again at school." Sakura offered.

Sasuke looked at her suspiciously but eventually lowered his finger and gave a small nod.

"Shisui was helping me on how to deal with girls who have a crush on me, perhaps he could help you too, Sasuke." Takeshi stated.

"Shisui has fangirls? Hn, I doubt it. I know Nii-san has lots, but he just ignores them. It's hard to ignore them when they're always there." Sasuke admitted.

"Shisui does have fangirls! Stop thinking Shisui isn't good and that Itachi is better at everything." Sakura defended.

"But he is better than Shisui! He can beat him when they spar!" Sasuke yelled.

"Alright you two, enough! Itachi is better than me at some things and I'm better than him at others. Leave it at that and stop bickering like an old married couple." Shisui said sternly yet somehow jovially.

Sakura turned her back to everyone, not wanting to look at anyone after having been scolded. She didn't think Sasuke was a bad kid, he just wouldn't shut up about how much better Itachi was than Shisui and for some reason, being around Shisui made her bold and confident.

"Itachi and I decided that Sasuke and Sakura-chan have to go play together while the three of us talk. Have fun!" Shisui said quickly and dragged Takeshi and Itachi into another room, leaving Sakura with Sasuke.

She felt a bit abandoned by Shisui but she knew he was doing it to help her, though she wasn't sure how exactly. She turned to Sasuke who was staring wide-eyed at his brother's retreating back.

"Sasuke-kun, what do you like playing?" She asked timidly.

"I like to train with my brother." Sasuke pouted and crossed his arms.

Sakura rolled her eyes and figured she would have to be the mature one. "When Itachi isn't home, what do you play with other kids?"

When Sasuke refused to speak and just sit there, she decided to sit near him until he wanted to say something. The two sat side by side, Sasuke looking in the opposite direction of Sakura, and Sakura looking at Sasuke.

After a few minutes of absolute silence, Sakura decided that she should at least try to be civil with him and maybe become friends.

"You really like Itachi don't you?"

"Of course! He's the nicest, strongest and smartest person in the world and I want to be just like him when I'm older." Sasuke exclaimed.

"I know Itachi is strong but Shisui is strong too."

"He's not as great as Itachi."

Sakura's eye twitched and she tried to think of a different approach to explain to Sasuke that Itachi and Shisui were equal.

"What's your favourite food?" She asked.

"Tomatoes!"

"Would you get annoyed if I kept telling you that syrup-coated anko dumplings are way better than tomatoes? What if I never stopped talking about them?" She asked earnestly.

"I would tell you to shut up because you were getting annoying." Sasuke responded harshly.

Sakura was about to make the comparison for Sasuke but Mikoto and her mother chose that specific moment to announce that dinner was ready.

Sakura stood up and extended her hand for Sasuke, at which he hesitated but eventually grabbed it. The two made their way to the dining room and sat down.

The seven of them - Sakura was overjoyed that Itachi's father was absent - ate in relative silence, only occasionally asking questions.

"How often do you travel out of town for business, Mebuki?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"Well we used to travel more frequently, probably once a month for a few weeks at a time, but we've just recently decided to cut that back to once every two months for several days. At least that's our plan, if needed, we'll travel more often." Mebuki explained.

"It must be so nice to get out of the village every once in a while." Mikoto sighed.

"Well, if you'd like to join us one day, it wouldn't be a problem." Mebuki offered.

"Oh, I'm not sure if I could leave my family alone for several days." Mikoto admitted.

"The offer is always there; in case you change your mind."

By the end of the meal, everyone was relaxed and enjoying their evening. Unfortunately, a knock at the door interrupted them and Itachi, being the dutiful son that he is, answered the door for his mother.

When he returned into the dining room, he immediately motioned for Shisui to follow him. Sakura instantly assumed that they had another mission, but she hoped she was wrong. They returned shortly after and informed everyone that they would be out of town for the following week.

"Shisui, make sure you don't slow down nii-san or get in his way. He can't protect you all the time, you should just get better." Sasuke lectured Shisui.

"We both do our part of the mission. We work as a team, we probably have the best teamwork in the village. And besides, we're each going on a solo mission." Shisui exasperated.

"I bet you take the easier part of your missions and leave the difficult part-"

"Sasuke, shut up you're getting annoying." Sakura interrupted Sasuke.

He stared at her with narrowed eyes and looked offended. She hoped he would clue in as to why she said what she did.

"Sakura-chan! Don't be so rude to Sasuke-kun." Her mother scolded her and turned to Mikoto to apologize.

"It's fine, I deserved it." Sasuke mumbled.

"No, you didn't deserve it. Sakura-chan, you will apologize to him." Her mother ordered.

"I told her to tell me that if I was mean to Shisui." Sasuke added.

Sakura understood him and smiled at him. Perhaps they would be able to get along after all.

"Do you like Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura almost choked on her food. She was sitting across from Ino at a picnic table during their lunch break and her best friend had been quiet all day.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked for clarification.

"Do you like Sasuke-kun?" Ino repeated.

That wasn't really any clearer than the first time Ino asked it but Sakura noticed Ino's worried expression and knew she had to answer quickly.

"No, I barely know Sasuke. I don't know why all the girls like him." She answered truthfully.

That was clearly the wrong answer because Ino grabbed her food and stormed off, leaving a bewildered Sakura staring at her back.

Was Ino hoping she would also like Sasuke? It made no sense to Sakura, wouldn't Ino prefer to not have to fight her best friend to win over Sasuke?

Sakura sat there until Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru sat beside her. The three managed to distract her enough with their silly stories that she temporarily forgot about Ino for a while.

"Umm… can I join you guys?"

Sakura and Kiba turned around to find Naruto standing behind them and Sakura immediately moved over to make him some room. He hesitantly sat down and after a few awkward moments of silence, Kiba started telling everyone how the new dog litter managed to turn the Inuzuka household upside down in a matter of minutes.

When the bell rang, Sakura hurriedly hugged all her friends at the table before walking back to class. She never thought she would have so many friends and, in a way, she was glad that Ino stormed off. She didn't think the four boys would have joined her if Ino had stayed, especially not Naruto.

She spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what had made Ino angry but she couldn't figure it out for the life of her. She built up the courage to ask Ino about it after classes and made sure to be the first one out the door so she wouldn't miss her friend.

She stood outside the Academy entrance and waited. She finally saw Ino's blonde hair and Sakura took a deep breath, ready to get answers.

She didn't count on Ino running past her, so Sakura stood there with tears in her eyes and watched as Ino glanced back towards her once she was sufficiently far enough.

She felt defeated and alone, the worst part was that she didn't know what she did to anger Ino. She really hoped she wouldn't lose her first friend, and figured she could hopefully approach Ino the next day.

Sakura spotted Shikamaru walking with his father and started walking towards them. Perhaps she would be able to find out what he wanted to tell her.