He ran as fast and as far as his little legs could carry.

Excitement filled his tiny little body, carrying his progress report in his hand. Coming from one of the most prestigious families in Konoha, and being the younger brother of a prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke always felt like he was in his brother's shadow. He wanted his father's approval, but Itachi got all the praise, all the attention, all the love. This time Sasuke achieved top scores in every single class and skill, his teachers speculated that he would be the Top Rookie when he graduates. Uchiha Fugaku wasn't an easy man to please or impress, but his father had to acknowledge him this time.

"Big forehead!"

"Aww, you going to cry?"

"Such a crybaby! Big, ugly forehead crybaby!"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, turning to see three kids poking sticks, pointing, and laughing at someone. Sasuke shoved his progress report in his pocket and walked towards the kids. They were surrounding a little girl with pastel pink-colored hair who was crying and using her arms to cover her face. It was three against one, and it definitely wasn't a fair fight. Sasuke picked up a rock and threw it at the kids, hitting one of them in the head.

"Ow! What was that?"

"Three versus one? That's not very fair."

Sasuke was tossing another rock in his hand, glaring at the kids. They got wide-eyed when they realized who was standing in front of them. All the boys knew not to mess with Uchiha Sasuke, and they ran away as fast as they could. The little girl looked up, sniffling, to see who came to her rescue. She used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the tears and snot running down her face. Sasuke extended a hand to her. She looked at his hand warily, and then at him.

"It's okay, they're gone now. I'm Sasuke."

"T-Thank you," Sakura grabbed his hand and he helped her up. "I'm Sakura. I-I know who you are. You're the best student at the academy."

Sakura dusted herself up and looked at the ground. Sasuke leaned down to get a better view of her face. He noticed that her eyes were puffy, her nose and cheeks were bright red. He took her hand and led her away from the park. A curious Sakura tried to figure out where they were going. They passed by stores and squeezed through people walking the streets. People were chattering and bustling about, and yet Sakura felt like they were the only two people around. She stared at the back of his raven hair as a million thoughts swirled in her head. Where were they going? Why was he choosing to be with her? He finally stopped and let go of her hand as they reached the training grounds.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"You need to be able to defend yourself."

"What?"

"Give me your best punch," Sasuke lifted his arm, with his palm open.

"I-I'm not a fighter."

"Not yet, come on, give me a punch."

Sakura balled her hand into a fist and just barely hit his palm. Sasuke shook his head and gestured his head toward his hand signaling her to do it again. She did it again and again. She hit as hard as her little fists could. Sasuke smiled seeing her feel more confident. He showed her how to kick, and offered to show her how to handle weapons next time. After all, learning self-defense is better than being bullied, and even though kunoichis spend half their classes learning about flower arrangement, and other cultures, they must be able to defend themselves against enemies, even if those enemies are school bullies.

"Next time, hit them and they won't mess with you again."

"What if that just makes them meaner?" Sakura whispered.

"Then you tell me and I'll handle it," Sasuke grinned. "By the way, they were wrong."

"About what?"

"You're not ugly. I like your forehead."

He poked her forehead and smiled. Her emerald eyes widened, her little heart raced, and her cheeks flushed. During these first few weeks of school, anytime anyone even spoke a word to her, they called her ugly and pointed at her forehead so she believed them. None of the other kids told her otherwise. No one defended her. Until now. Until Sasuke.

Sakura smiled and touched her forehead.

"Thank you," Sakura smiled. "You're not ugly either. Not that anyone thinks you are! I mean-"

Sasuke smiled, and they talked about how things are going at the academy. For the first time, Sasuke conversed with a kid from school. For the first time, someone wanted to be with Sakura, and it was Uchiha Sasuke. Haruno Sakura may be the most intelligent girl in class, but she was an outcast. She had no friends and the only people who did talk to her bullied her. She never would have thought the most popular boy in school would ever talk to her much less defend her against bullies and train with her. Sakura told him about all her troubles at school, and how happy she was now that she made a friend.

"They're just a bunch of stupid jerks. Since I'm the smartest in class, that means I'm right and they're wrong. Always."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." Sakura smiled.

Sakura looked up at the sky, and saw the sun start to set. Neither of them had noticed that hours passed as they trained and talked. His anticipations toward his father seeing his exemplary grades slipped his mind while he spent time with Sakura. Since enrolling in the academy, Sasuke's focus were on grades, and striving to excel like his brother. He didn't care about making friends or getting along with his peers. He concentrated on his studies and refined his skills so he'd be worthy of the Uchiha name. That was, until he came to the aid of this little girl, and realized maybe making friends isn't so bad, or at least, being Sakura's friend wouldn't be so bad.

"Oh, it's getting late, Mommy and Daddy will start to worry if I don't go home soon. Bye Sasuke-kun and thank you!"

Sasuke waved bye and watched as Sakura ran toward her home. Sasuke turned and sprinted all the way to the Uchiha compound. He reached the door and took his progress report out of his pocket. Excitement filled his body, eager to see the look on his father's face when he reviewed it and would ultimately praise him for his hard work. He would be so proud that his son is not only excelling but number one. Sasuke's mom caught him at the front and took one look at him, seeing his filthy hands, and shook her head.

"Hello Mother!"

"Welcome home. Training again?"

"Yeah, and I had to fight off some bullies."

"Bullies? Did they hurt you? Who were they, Sasuke?"

"No one. I wasn't the one being bullied."

"Oh? So you helped someone out?"

"Yeah, Sakura."

"Sakura?" Mikoto's curiosity piqued. Sasuke rarely, no never, talked about other kids, and a girl no less.

"She was being bullied so I helped her."

"That's very nice of you Sasuke. Is she a girl in your class?"

"Yeah! I see her sometimes. She gets the best grades, and she's got pink hair."

"She sounds like a nice girl. You should always try to help people when you can," Mikoto held Sasuke's hand and smiled. "Come on, let's wash your hands first."

Mikoto wondered who was this little girl that captured his son's attention? She knew Sasuke wasn't having trouble in school in terms of his studies, but she worried that he wasn't making any friends, that he spent all his time training or with Itachi. She felt relief as it no longer seemed to be the case. Maybe soon, they'd even have a little playdate. Mikoto chuckled at the thought of seeing Sasuke play with another child his age. Maybe instead of trying to become his brother, he'd be his own person.

Sasuke walked towards his parents' room with his progress report in his hand. He was nervous to hear what his father would say. All he wanted was to make him proud of him just like how he was proud of Itachi.

He knelt, waiting patiently as his father reviewed his scores. Getting first in class wasn't easy and he was sure his father would shower him with compliments of how he is worthy of the Uchiha clan name, how he's proud that Sasuke is his son.

"Keep up the good work, and you'll soon be following in your brother's footsteps."

"Yeah, thank you, Father."

His smile fell. He still hasn't received his father's approval. Sasuke wanted to hear his father say, "that's my boy" just like he says to Itachi. Fugaku got up and started walking out of the room. He wanted his father to show interest in him, and he couldn't help feel a little disappointed when those words didn't come out of his father's mouth.

Sakura helped her mom set the table for dinner. Mebuki observed her daughter humming, and smiling. While she loved to see her daughter happy, it was rare that Sakura would come home from school smiling, much less humming. Every day before today, Sakura would barely utter a "hello", and walk upstairs to her room to do her homework. Today, she hugged her mom and even smiled at her before going up to her room. Mebuki worried Sakura wasn't making any friends or having trouble in school, but her behavior today eased her worries.

"Sakura, did something good happen at school today?"

"I met a boy! He made the bullies go away!"

"Bullies? Sakura, you were being bullied?"

"I was, but Sasuke-kun scared them! He even taught me how to punch so they won't bother me again!"

"Sasuke-kun? Who's Sasuke-kun?"

"He goes to school with me! He always seems to do really well in class. He's the best at everything!"

"Well, that was very nice of him to scare the bullies away, but you shouldn't resort to violence."

"But Mommy, I'm in the ninja academy. I have to learn to fight anyways."

"I know, but Mommy just wishes you weren't going to school to become a kunoichi. It's so dangerous."

"I'll be okay! Sasuke-kun said he would deal with people being mean to me if I need help!"

"Please be careful, Mommy always worries about you."

Later that night, Sakura worked on something to show her appreciation towards Sasuke. While Sakura excelled in her studies, her lack of friends and general positive relationships with her peers made going to school an anxiety-filled experience every day. For the first time, Sakura looked forward to it because she would see Sasuke.

She lifted her gift and grinned. It was perfect. Sakura carefully put it in her bag before climbing to bed. She drifted off to sleep, dreaming about the boy who came to her rescue, who became her very first friend.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews/follows/favorites are all very much appreciated! I plan to follow some moments as close as I can, to what we got in flashbacks, for relationship dynamics, but the rest will be my own story.

This was my first story idea, but I put it off until I was sure how I wanted it to start it. I'm excited to finally upload it!

You can also follow me on Tumblr: foreheadpokesoflove. I make GIFs and blog about SasuSaku, Disney, and in the future, other fandoms.