Author's Note: This story is about Sasuke and Sakura, but the beginning is kinda weird. It starts off when they're young and it goes as far as when Sasuke leaves Konohagakure village. But don't worry, its not gonna be like 50 chapters! Around 10 - 20 I think. But not any longer than 20. Hope you enjoy it and please review! I'm trying my best to make Sasuke act like he does in the anime and manga.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

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It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was crystal clear and the wind was whispering away, soothing the soul. They were all still very young, eight years old to be exact. It was the usual type of day, almost ALL the girls from the village would chase after Sasuke and torment him while Mei and her friends would watch. Mei was probably the only girl in the entire village who didn't pine for Sasuke's love. That didn't mean, though, that she didn't think he was cute.

Mei had blonde, shoulder-length hair with side bangs. Her eyes were a sky blue, bringing out her sweet serenity everytime she looked at someone. She wore a pink, short-sleeved shirt with a mini denim skirt, about 2 inches above her knees. She also had a belt coming from one side of her skirt, swooping down, and turning at the middle, so it was kind of hanging. Mei hung out with Shikamaru, who has brown hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a simple shirt with black pants. He complained very much and was so lazy and annoying! But he's a good friend, and pretty good at the arts of the ninja, just a couple of the really basic techniques, though. She also hung out with Chouji and two other girls, Shizune and Mizuki. Chouji is really lazy and only thinks about eating and what his next meal will be. Shizune has long, dead straight black hair with bangs above her hazel eyes. And Mizuki has long purple hair, tied in pigtails with bangs above her navy blue eyes and beside her face.

"SASUKE!" A girl with short, pink hair cried.

Haruno Sakura, she has got to be the most annoying of ALL of sasuke's fangirls! sigh Mei thought. Sasuke...I think that he just needs a friend...someone to talk too. I wonder why he acts the way he does. Then again, if that many boys were after me, I'd probably act the same way! Whatever...

"Come on, let's get outta here, Mei," Mizuki said eagerly. She hated seeing all those fangirls around him.

"Yeah, let's go," Mei replied. Maybe when he's alone I'll talk to him.

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Later that day, Mei was walking around the streets of Konoha with Shikamaru, Shizune, and Mizuki. Chouji was busy at home, eating away his lunch.

"Training starts tomorrow," Shikamaru said boringly.

"Huh?" Shizune questioned.

"Oh yeah! I remember! Ninja training! I can't wait!" Mizuki was jumping around the place. She just loved training, always bragging. But she could never match Shikamaru's level, no matter how hard she tried.

"Ugghhh, I can't believe you talked me into that nonsense! This is going to be so boring and hard and I'm gonna get dirty!" Shizune yelled in frusteration.

"Girls, they worry to much about their looks and they fuss about the smallest of things," Shikamaru said. By now he was so annoyed at the two of them.

"Say that again?" Shizune said angrily, staring at him(with that angry anime face), holding her fist up. Mizuki didn't really care, Shikamaru did that all the time. She was used to it now. Mei wasn't really listening, she was just thinking about Sasuke and what she would ask him.

If I'm not careful about what I say, then he'll reject me! But I wanna know what makes him act the way he does. Why is he like this! What's wrong with h-

She was cut off from her thoughts and when she looked up Mizuki was starring at her.

"You okay? You haven't said a word! What's up?" Mizuki asked. Mei just looked at her. Then it hit Mizuki. That's it! She thought.

"You like someone, don't you? Spit it out! Who is it!" Mizuki was jumping around, dying to find out who it was.

"What! I don't like anyone. It's just that...I...wa-" She started, but was cut off again.

"Oh! Just spit it out!" Mizuki yelled at her. Shikamaru and Shizune joined in with her and she was surrounded by her friends, all jumping around her, threatening her just to get her to tell them who she liked.

"I DON'T LIKE ANYONE!" She screamed out loud at them. Finally, when they stopped bugging her, she explained it to them. "Look, I want to talk to Sasuke and find out why he acts the way he does. That's it! I'm just thinking of a way to talk to him without him getting annoyed at me, or else we won't get anywhere!" She said annoyed and angry at the same time.

"Ooooh, whoops. Sorry, I thought it was something else," Mizuki said, apologetically.

"Mei, having a crush on someone, I just can't picture it" Shikamaru said.

"Yeah," Shizune agreed.

Mei stopped and when her friends noticed, they stopped as well. Ahead of them was Sasuke. All alone walking by himself with his hands in his pockets.

Now's my chance! If I don't ask him now, when will I ever be able to ask him? Mei thought to herself.

"Uhhh...well...you guys, I have to, you know, talk to him. I just have to find out," Mei said, determined. Now was her chance, she had to do it.

"Go, we'll watch from a distance," Shizune said. The others nodded in agreement. So Mei went off towards Sasuke, thinking hard about what to say. Her thoughts were coiled together like a dragon's nest, and she forgot what she was going to tell him.

"Sasuke," Mei said softly, but just loud enough so that he could hear her. He turned his head to see who had said his name.

"Ummm...I...umm...well..." She mumbled. She had no idea what to say or do, she just couldn't speak, knowing that he would just get annoyed at her like he did at every other girl. Obviously aware of the fact that she wasn't going to say anything, he turned around and left.

"Wait!" Mei shouted at him. "Please, I just wanted to talk to you," He stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"You're just like the others, even worse. Why can't you just leave me alone," he said to her in his usual voice.

Ugghh, this isn't gonna work! Gotta think, gotta think! That's it! Crazy, but maybe even crazy enough to work! Mei ran up to Sasuke and took his wrist. She started to run towards the park, but a sweeter place that she liked to go too.

"Ugghh! Let go of me! And stop pulling!" Sasuke yelled at her angrily, trying to get his wrist free.

"I'm taking you to place I like to go when I'm upset, It'll help you feel better if you don't wanna talk to me in the wide open." She told him.

Her friends started running after her, but they lost her.

"She did that on perpose!" Mizuki yelled out in frusteration.

"Maybe she wants some alone time with him?" Shizune suggested.

"C'mon, she can't be too far ahead, we'll keep looking," Shikamaru said. They all nodded and went after her once again.

"I don't care about that stupid place of yours! Let me go!" He yelled even agrier this time. She just ignored him. This better work! She thought. Still, he was trying to get free, but she kept her grip tight. They ran through the park, Sasuke still struggling, and past a fountain with benches around it so that you can watch the birds peacefully play in the water and bathe themselves. Finally, they stopped at a large tree. A Sakura(cherry blossom) tree to be exact. It was beautiful. The small pale pink petals were fluttering all over the place and the tree was glimmering in the suns rays.

"I know you hate me right now, but, I like coming here when I have to think about my problems, so I thought that we could talk here." She said cheerfully, but she was nervous of his reply.

"What a waste of time, I'm going home," He said and turned around.

"Wait! Just answer me this one question. Why do you act the way you do, what...happened?" She asked eagerly, but carefully.

"Why should I tell you?" He asked her and kept walking away.

"I just want to know. It's annoying, you know. You're the biggest heartthrob in the entire village, all these girls are after you, you could have so many friends. But you reject it all, why? I want to know!" She stated impatiently.

"You wanna know why?" He asked her, sarcastically now.

"I have a right to know!" By now Mei was ready to bite his head off if he didn't answer. She wasn't what you would call 'patient'.

"You...don't know what its like to be lonely," He started.

"huh?" Mei just looked at him, clueless.

"You don't come home every day to have to relive all the pain, you don't know what its like to not have a family!" He said to her, a bit angrily.

Mei was shocked, she couldn't believe her ears. To think that he was hiding this from everybody. He's so strong, to not tell anyone. To not cry in front of others or just collapse crying after telling me that. Sasuke... Mei thought.

"Sasuke...I..I'm so sorry," Mei said to him. "Sorry to have had to bring back all the painful memories. I really am stupid. I'm so sorry, Sasuke,"

"Hmph," Sasuke turned his head to face her, "You really are different from the other girls," He told her and walked away.

Mei stared at him in disbelief. But then she smiled cheerfully and said in a voice, just barely above a whisper, "Sasuke...thank you," She smiled and looked at the cherry blossom tree next to her. You really do help solve my problems. She looked off at the distance, but Sasuke was gone. Maybe you even helped Sasuke a bit.

She was left there alone, in the hot evening. The sakura tree, still glimmering, with its petals fluttering around. Mei just looked up at the sky and smiled. She had found out why Sasuke acted the way he did, now she knew. But Sasuke, I don't have a family either...