DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto - it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N: Okay, before anything else, I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend Roxy, if you're reading this, I love u and thank u for everything 33
And yes, we have a soft spot for Itachi and Hinata in this house :D
"Okay, so you know me, Hinata, Narubaka, and Sasuke over there," Ino pointed at the two, who still would not stop bickering.
"Sasuke?" Sakura questioned, as Ino nodded, pointing at the guy with black spiky hair and black eyes that went along with it.
'C-chicken butt hair,' Sakura thought, as she bit her lip trying not to laugh.
Ino raised an eyebrow at the rosette, finding it amusing that Sakura was laughing at the heartthrob of Konoha High. She smirked at the thought.
"Right," Sakura coughed, getting back to Ino.
"They sure make an odd couple don't they?" Ino shook her head. "If I wasn't taken already, I would have definitely gone for dear Sasuke-kun," she cackled.
'So this is the noblewoman's laugh,' Sakura nodded, trying not to laugh again.
"Anyways -" Ino grabbed Sakura's hand, "I'll introduce you to everyone else," Ino grinned, obviously having way more fun than the rosette is.
"Oh, you don't have to do that -"
"Nonsense, Sakura -" Ino looked at her with sparkling eyes, "This is no trouble at all!"
And so, the pair (with Hinata not trailing far behind) journeyed - well, walked around the whole room, with Ino doing the introductions, and Sakura doing her best to keep up with the 'hi's' and 'hello's' she was receiving.
"So this is Shikamaru and Choiji," Ino smiled at Sakura, but immediately narrowed her eyes to see the two lazing around.
"Oi, Shika" Ino flicked the forehead of who Sakura could only assume was Shikamaru. His pineapple-like ponytail bobbed up and down when he lifted his head, an airy expression inhabiting his face, although his annoyance could be seen peeking through his half-lidded eyes.
"Too loud," he drawled, before his head fell down the table again. Sakura lightly laughed, knowing exactly what it felt like to be so tired that your whole body just fell and succumbed to sleep.
"Well that's that,"Ino gave up, as she rolled her eyes at the already snoring Shikamaru. "Anyways," Ino patted the other guy - Choji, who shyly waved at Sakura.
"Choji here," Ino grinned, "-is an absolute sweetheart. He's really good company, I swear, so don't tease him!" Ino seriously warned, and Sakura could only nod, understanding where Ino was coming from.
Choji shook his head at Ino, and only offered Sakura a small smile. Choji had spiky brown hair (although not like Sasuke's) and small eyes that crinkled whenever he smiled, and although he looked quite plump, Sakura knew it was nothing much to worry about - she knew a fellow lover of food when she saw one, and Sakura couldn't be more thrilled.
And yet, despite Sakura's first impression of Choji to be a sweet person, she couldn't help but understand the way he'd lower his gaze when she stared at him, as if afraid of what other people might say.
Sakura patted Choji's other shoulder, and offered him the biggest smile she could muster, all shyness gone from the pink-haired girl. "It's super nice to meet you, um - could I call you Choji-kun?"
Choji could only stammer a 'yes' before his face turned completely red and excused himself to quote unquote, 'run aw- I mean, buy more snacks - yeah-'
Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura (and Hinata) have moved to yet another part of the room, where a very pretty girl, introduced as Tenten, took Sakura's hands and shook them vigorously. Tenten seemed thrilled to have a new friend, and Sakura felt quite the same.
Tenten was as mentioned,a very pretty girl, with her long brown hair tied into two buns, her bangs parted into both sides equally, framing her face. Her coffee-colored eyes looked warmly at the three other girls, but most of all at Sakura.
"Hello, Sakura-chan! Oh wait, do you mind if I call you that?" Tenten worriedly asked.
"Yeah, of course! I prefer being called that anyways," Sakura confessed, as she mirrored the smile Tenten was giving her.
Tenten's smile only grew wider, and soon enough, the 4 girls were entangled in a hug (initiated by Tenten, of course) with countless mutters from Ino but who gave in nonetheless.
"This feels right, yes?" Tenten giggled, her face buried in Hinata's hair. The three laughed in response, but more so Hinata, who was apparently ticklish.
'Temari would love this,' Sakura thought, suddenly missing the sandy-colored hair and her pine green eyes she was so used to at home. Without her, it just felt like something was missing.
'But still,' Sakura giggled as Tenten only managed to tighten the hug even more, and Ino led more protests to messing up her nails, 'This is nice.'
"Look at this mess," Ino complained, her hair a slight mess. Strands of her blonde tresses were sticking up, and so Sakura was left to Hinata and Tenten's care.
"You can do this Hinata," Ino gave her a thumbs up, Hinata obviously panicking about the way things turned out, while Ino quickly ran to the bathroom. Sakura noted that she was definitely wearing heels, and so should be feared for Ino's powers.
Meanwhile, Tenten gave Hinata a reassuring pat in the back, making sure that she knows she's not shouldering the responsibility alone.
"Anyways, it was my fault Ino had a quote unquote, 'fashion emergency' so, let's get this party on the road!" Tenten cheered, dragging Sakura and Hinata along, poking fun at Naruto and Sasuke, introducing Sakura to more people, and being altogether curious about what Kakashi was reading.
The gray-haired teacher only turned red and shooed them away when they asked about it, so the three were left pondering about that until the bell rang.
"Well, you know most of our classmates already," Tenten affirmed, and Sakura was relieved to see that her social circle was expanding - something she wasn't sure she would have achieved on the first day. "However, there are a few more people you might meet that we know of, so we'll definitely introduce them to you! Oh but if you don't get to meet them in class, you'll definitely meet them during lunch."
"Th-that is, if Sakura-chan's okay with sitting with us?" Hinata stuttered, her gaze shifting quickly from Sakura's widening eyes to the tiled floors.
"W-would it be okay?" Sakura breathed, her eyes sparkling. Tenten nodded enthusiastically, and Hinata gave her a small nod. The rosette gave the two brief hugs after that, and soon enough, Tenten parted ways with Sakura and Hinata who were on their way to Science.
"So, Hinata-chan," Sakura peered at the purple-haired girl, who only met Sakura's eyes for a second and looked away, "I didn't get to thank you for what you did that morning."
"Eh? I did-didn't really do anything - I only ran away," she whispered. "Like I always do," she added bitterly.
"You think so?" Sakura asked softly, as they walked down the halls. "I really felt annoyed and kind of mad that morning, so it was kinda nice when you got my attention. It's like - I knew you were really trying to help, and it just really felt nice. Ah, I'm kinda just saying the same thing over and over again," Sakura laughed.
"But yeah," Sakura grinned. "Thank you Hinata-chan. Your presence is already super helpful, and I'm just really glad we're classmates."
Hinata met Sakura's eyes, and for the first time, Sakura sees her pale pearl-like eyes more clearly than ever. The rosette felt her breath being taken away, and the two stopped walking, arriving at the Science classroom.
"Thank you Sakura-chan," she murmured, before hesitantly, taking Sakura's hand into hers, leading her inside the classroom.
Sakura's awe melts into her smile, and Hinata swore she heard her say, "No, thank you Hinata-chan," back.