I'm back. This is the second part of my story. I hope you like it :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
They were eight years old when Naruto and Sasuke became rivals…and jealous.
It's been four months since she and Naruto became friends and ever since then, they started spending a lot of time together and at the Ramen shop, courtesy of Naruto and his weird obsession with it. Sakura was horrified when she found out that Ramen and milk were the meals he regularly consumes and made sure Naruto ate healthier food ever since then. In the end, she started bringing an extra box filled with food with her to the academy.
To say Naruto was thrilled would be perfect, for he never received such attention from anyone before; Sakura yelling at him about his health and forcing him to eat fruits and vegetables just made him ecstatic. As a bonus for him, it turned out that his recent friend is smart, as in smart. There wasn't anything he asked her that she couldn't answer with confidence and ease. His Sakura-chan knew everything!
Today was another beautiful day as they both sat down on a new spot under a tree. They had half an hour of recess before the everyone would continue on with their education in the academy. Sakura took out her two bento boxes, handing out one of them to Naruto with a huge grin.
"Today's food is special and important for you! So you better eat them all!" Sakura said, daring him to say otherwise. Naruto gulped and slowly opened the box to see multiple colors of fruits and some Onigiri. He blinked at the choice of food today and smiled.
"Thank you Sakura-chan! Itadakimasu!" Naruto first started with his Onigiri, savoring the delicious flavor. Before he went further into his bento box, his chopsticks stopped in their track once he caught site of a reddish, juicy fruit. His eyes narrowed as he started poking this suspicious jelly-like substance with his pair of chopsticks. Sakura kept watching him do the same thing for a whole two minutes, which made her twitch every now and then.
"What are you doing Naruto!? Do not play with your food!" Naruto stopped and gave her a small frown, pointing at the red fruit in front of him. "You are going to be eating those whether you like them or not!" Sakura yelled, frustrated that he made a such big fuss over something so stupid.
"But Sakura-chan! I don't like Tomatoes! Please! Anything but this!" Naruto begged. If there was anything he hated to eat, it was Tomatoes; he shuddered at the thought of even tasting it.
"Naruto! You are going to be eating those tomatoes, or I will!" Sakura ordered. Tomatoes are such juicy and delicious fruits and the idea of someone not liking them is just…wrong. Glancing at Naruto's stubborn face, she realized that he won't be eating them even if she begged for it. With a sigh, she reached out to them with her pair of utensils and started putting the freshly chopped pieces of tomatoes in her bento box. She was a little disappointed in the fact that her friend didn't like them; it took her so much time to search for the perfect, bright red ones in the market with her pregnant mom. Shrugging mentally, she started nibbling at the rest of her food, keeping the tomatoes to savor for last. Once she was done with her part, she started eating the delicious tomatoes, chewing as slowly as she possibly could in order to savor the taste. Before she could glare at Naruto for not even trying them, she felt a figure standing somewhere beside her. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find Uchiha Sasuke himself, kneeling right beside her and staring at her bento box with innocent curiosity. Surprised, she squealed and backed away, caught completely off guard.
"Eh? Sasuke-san? What are you doing here?" Sakura said, completely baffled. Sasuke just stared at her for a while before pointing at her food.
"Can I…have some?" He hesitated, feeling stupid for asking such a weird question. Sakura stared at her bento, which contained the few portions of tomatoes left.
'Sasuke likes…tomatoes' Sakura concluded, but before she had the chance to respond, Naruto stood up from his place and glared down at the Uchiha.
"Why would Sakura-chan give you any of her lunch!? Go get yours from your own mother" Naruto began. Sasuke glanced at him with uninterested eyes.
"I was not talking to you Dobe. You better leave if you are annoyed by my presence" Sasuke ended his statement with a bold smirk. Naruto fumed at the…stranger who made him appear like an idiot in front of his Sakura-chan.
"Don't call me that you…teme! If you're man enough, come fight me!"
"Why don't you tell that to whoever cares…Dobe" Another smirk. Naruto's anger was out of control and was about to charge at the snob, but Sakura easily cut him off with a fist to his cheeks, sending him flying a few feet away.
"Naruto! Don't be so rude!" Sakura yelled and turned to Sasuke with another glare directed straight at him.
"Sasuke-san! Please don't be rude to Naruto. He's my friend and I don't want you two to end up fighting. Its better if you two just sat together in peace"
Sasuke snorted at that idea, ignoring her attitude towards him. "He started it" He murmured lamely. Sakura couldn't hold her anger for long, especially when Sasuke, in his own way, apologized. She smiled and gave him her bento box.
"I'm full anyway Sasuke-san! You can have the rest of the tomatoes. I never knew you liked them." Sasuke thanked her politely and took her chopsticks from her own hand, shocking her "Sasuke-san, I used those" Sasuke stopped midway into eating his share of tomatoes, stared at the chopsticks, and shrugged "It doesn't matter" he said, popping the piece of fruit into his mouth. He gave Sakura a small smile, which caught the girl completely off guard.
"These are really good tomatoes" He complemented as he ate another piece. Sakura smiled; glad that she may have a new friend soon. Naruto sat beside her, pouting and glaring at the newcomer who was slowly stealing Sakura away from him.
"Ano, Sasuke-san? Why did you decide to sit with us? I'm sure you have better friends to go to…" Sakura trailed off, staring at the ground sadly. Whenever she thought of that, her mood seemed to go down drastically. Naruto was alarmed at her change of mood and tried to tell her that she was all the things she thought she wasn't, but again, Sasuke had beaten him to it.
"I don't have friends here; they are all annoying and useless to me." Sasuke stated, giving back the empty box to the owner. "You shouldn't get upset of such a small thing. I'm guessing you're better than all of them put together" He finished his statement and stood up "Thank you for the tomatoes…" Before he could finish what he started, Sakura gave him a huge smile and stood up as well, holding his hands.
"Sasuke-san, do you want to sit with us tomorrow as well!? We also hang out in the playground as much as we can. You're welcomed to join us if you like!" her eyes held so much hope that for a moment, little Sasuke didn't have the heart to crush her rising spirit and deny her her request. Just when he was about to answer her, Naruto had to interfere "Why would you want Sasuke-teme to hang out with us anyway?" Sakura twitched and turned around to deliver a glare to Naruto.
"I will be busy training. I said it before, I don't need friends" Sasuke's voice interrupted their glaring contest and Sakura was about to talk it out with the new person, but by that time, he had already disappeared. To say Sakura was crushed was an understanding. She sat on the ground and let out a long, tired sigh. Naruto looked at her back with a guilty expression on his face; one of his worst nightmares was to be the reason for his friend's disappointment and sadness.
"I really wanted us to be friends with him, Naruto. It would have been fun for the three of us to sit down with one another and talk. I've always wanted this." Sakura looked at him with a smile and continued, "Not that I am not grateful you aren't with me. I am so happy to be friends with you, Naruto…though it would be nice to have another person in the group…right?" She looked at him expectantly, her eyes boring into his. Naruto ignored her gaze, but nodded nonetheless "Yeah, it would be nice to have someone else with us…even if it was Sasuke-teme. Sorry Sakura-chan" Naruto apologized, but Sakura would have none of it. She reached out for Naruto and patted his head.
"You don't have to apologize for this Naruto. Maybe one day, we will befriend him right?" Naruto stared at the most precious person in his life and gave out his customary grin, pleasing Sakura greatly. It was just then they heard the teachers summoning their students back to class. In a hurry, Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and they both ran to their respected class.
The sun was about to set as the two children continued to play in the swings, trying to win one another by swinging higher and higher. So far, Sakura was winning Naruto. Rather, Naruto was letting her win. It was nice to always see her confidence rise whenever she wins a challenge between them and if her victory gives her happiness, he would gladly lose for her.
"I win again Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed happily. She knew what her friend was doing, but she wasn't complaining. She could clearly see that Naruto was better at this than her, but winning is winning anyway. She stopped swinging when she saw a familiar figure walking towards her, his face looking irritated and dejected. Sakura stopped swinging and waited for Sasuke to approach her further. Imagine her surprise when he said something that had nothing to do with what she expected.
"You're sitting in my swing…" Sakura blinked, confused and taken back. Used to listening to others in order to avoid any violence, she apologized and stepped aside for him to use the swing. Sasuke didn't expect her to give up her place so easily and so, after taking her place, he looked at her startling emerald eyes "You need to step up to people. If your personality stays that weak when you become a ninja, you are going to be a complete failure." She stared at the ground and nodded, knowing that he was right and she should stand up to herself.
"Oi! Teme! Don't talk to her like that! And just who are you to take her swing when she was the one who sat on it first!" Naruto burst out, his nerves flailing from how that bastard was talking to his Sakura-chan. Sasuke seemed to be ignoring him, but his smirk alerted Naruto that the bastard was doing so on purpose. Right before he can deliver another remark, Sasuke looked at him with uninterested eyes.
"Is that the only thing you can say? 'Sakura-chan this' and 'Sakura-chan that'. Are you her eternal slave or something…Dobe?" the black-haired eight year-old delivered a smirk and started swinging, ignoring the murderous aura radiating from his other side.
"You think you are better than me teme?! What do you know?! I bet I can kick your snobby butt all the way to Sand Village without even lifting up a finger!"
"Oh yeah? Says the loser who keeps failing at every exam" Sasuke retorted.
"You think you're so smart!? You're not the first at everything! Sakura-chan holds first place in the written tests!" At this, Naruto's smirk widened.
"At least I have skills and use them to become a better ninja, unlike you whose whole life is pulling pranks on people and following a pink-haired brat!"
"Well at least I have a life teme! I'm not some asexual obsessed freak whose life is to train, train, and eat freaking tomatoes!"
"why you!" By that time, Sasuke and Naruto had stood up from their swings and were forehead to forehead, glaring at each other with venom.
While they were at it, Sakura got bored of their arguments and sat on a bench a few feet away from the playground, staring at the sunset. By the time the two boys realize she's gone, they would have finished their endless argument. While she was enjoying the soothing view, she felt a presence behind her, alerting her. Turning around, her eyes widened when she caught site of her abusers, smirking down at her. This time, they were only a group of boys who were so much bigger than her small size.
"Well ugly-forehead, we're finally alone. It's been a while hasn't it" the leader of the small group said.
'You need to step up to people. If your personality stays that weak when you become a ninja, you are going to be a complete failure.' Sakura gulped inaudibly. Remembering Sasuke's word brought back some of her courage and confidence, but what is a small girl like her able to do in front of a group of bigger boys?
'Oh well…' Sakura thought. If she was to be taken down, she won't go without a fight; Naruto and Sasuke taught her that. She summed up all the courage she had and stood up from her bench, though it did nothing to fill the gap of height between them. Determined, she stared at the boys with hard emerald orbs, surprising them greatly.
"If talking such trash is all why you came here for, then I suggest you leave, please." She said with her hard voice, her body tense for any attack. The older boys started laughing at her bold statement, frustrating Sakura all the more.
"Little miss ugly grew a spirit and thinks she can stand up to us. Let's prove her wrong boys." The leader said and before Sakura could make any move, she was held by two pairs of strong arms, rendering her immobile. The next thing she knew, her hair was being yanked roughly, making her let out a loud yelp of pain. She just hoped that Naruto can hear her, she prayed he could. Apparently, she was not strong enough for these mob and tears slide down her face when she realized that she was going to receive some more beating. Before the boy's fist managed to reach her face, he was shoved aside roughly, resulting in him falling on the rough dirty ground.
"What the hell!!" the leader exclaimed, surprised as to who would dare interrupt him. Before he could turn around, he was rendered unconscious by a strong punch to his face.
Sakura was dropped to the ground as the two other boys scurried away from her and carried their leader. The pink-haired girl slowly opened her eyes and looked up from her position on the ground to see the backs of her friend and Sasuke. Sasuke felt her gaze on him and turned around towards her, saying, "Are you hurt anywhere?" without waiting for an answer, his eyes searched her body for any kind of injury and nodded when he was satisfied that no harm was inflicted on her.
"If you ever come near Sakura-chan again, you'll have to go through me bastards! We went easy on your leader, but we won't the next time we see you!" Naruto roared at the group who were glaring at them. Sasuke decided to end this.
"Just leave and make sure that next time, you pick on someone your own size…cowards" they needn't be told twice as they scurried away from them with their tails in between their legs.
Sniffs and small sobs were the only thing heard in the area as Naruto automatically started trying to soothe her with everything he can, but no matter what he said, he couldn't easy her frustration and feeling of helplessness. Sasuke look at the pair and to his frustration, found himself uncomfortable with her distress. He kneeled down towards her and stared until he sobs somehow softened and looked at him with red, puffy eyes.
"You can't have the idiot protecting you all your life. You're a ninja, act like one. The Dobe told me you were smart, use it and train so you can one day fight back those idiots, instead of them doing that to you." Sakura forgot all about her distress and blinked at Sasuke, pointing out "That's the longest sentence I heard you say" Sasuke twitched and was about to retort back when another person decided to join them.
"I see you made some friends, Sasuke" Itachi said as he entered the clearing with an amused expression. He saw everything that happened and would have helped the pink-haired girl had he not been sure his brother and the kyuubi container would do the job. Sasuke never cared much about others, but when he saw him defend the girl, he couldn't help but be at ease that his brother would not be alone when…
"Nii-san, what are you doing here" Sasuke said with a small blush, embarrassed he was caught in the act. Itachi gave a small smile and looked at the pink-haired girl before returning his attention back to his dear brother. "I came here to take you home; mother wanted us to be in time for dinner." He stated. His eyes wandered back to the other two, "You should also go home. It's getting late and you wouldn't want your mother to worry." The last sentence was meant for Sakura, for he knew the Kyuubi's history.
Before Sakura could get up, she winced from the pain in her ankle. It must have been when she was trying to escape her attackers' vice-like grip. "Eh? Sakura-chan. Are you okay?" Naruto asked worriedly. It felt like she was in pain. Itachi knew the reason behind this and kneeled down to inspect her injury. Sakura had complete faith in him and let him touch the sore spot without complaining. Inwardly, Itachi was surprised the small girl trusted him enough to stay relaxed in his presence, possibly because she knew he was Sasuke's elder brother. Putting that aside, he started healing her ankle. Though he may not have enough experience in the field of medicine, he can at least numb her pain and make sure it's not fractured. When he was done, he noticed the girl's expression ease up as the pain slowly faded away.
"I didn't heal it fully, but bandaging it for two days will definitely finish the job. Tell your mother to do it for you." Itachi exclaimed and raised her from the ground, making sure she can stand on her own. Sakura gave him a huge smile, warming his features slightly. "Thank you Nii-san! It doesn't hurt anymore!" Itachi gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Oi, girl. He is my brother, so don't call him that." Sasuke murmured, jealous that his brother's attention was solely on her. On the other hand Naruto was also envious that NOW, Sasuke's brother is holding his Sakura-chan's attention. "Let's go Sakura-chan!" Naruto held Sakura's hand, but heard her let out a small yelp when she took her first step.
Even though the pain was dull and almost not there, Sakura felt very uncomfortable walking on her left foot. Before she could contemplate on how she was going to be home on time, someone gently lifted her from the ground and the next thing she knew, she was on the elder Uchiha's back
Sasuke's brother was giving her a piggy back ride home, her sharp mind instantly figured out.
"Ano! Uchiha-san! You don't have to…Sasuke-san's mother is waiting for you and I don't want to be a burden…" Sakura kept on babbling until one look from the elder Uchiha assured her that she was not intruding or delaying their dinner. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him and relaxed. Throughout the whole process, both Sasuke and Naruto were surprised at what just happened between the two.
"Look what you did Dobe. It's your fault that Aniki has to carry her all the way back to her house when we could be going to ours instead." Sasuke started, glaring at Naruto.
"At least your big brother is more of a gentleman than you! You'll stay a stuck up bastard with a stick up your—"
"NARUTO! DON'T MAKE ME COME THERE! YOU TOO SASUKE!!!" Sakura's (a few yards away) angry outburst shut both the children up as they gulped at the girl's threatening tone. Sasuke was slightly aggravated at how a girl (a pink-haired one nonetheless!) managed to scare him. He shoved his hands into his pocket and followed his brother to Sakura's house. Naruto grumbled a few incoherent words before following suit and making sure the elder Uchiha delivers his best friend safely.
"Ano, Nii-san? What's your name?" Sakura filled in the silence. She wanted to at least know the person who helped her out, since not many go through so much length for her. The elder Uchiha smiled at the girl, finding himself already fond of her "Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. Nice to meet you Sakura-kun. I'm glad my brother found you as a friend, I believe you are worth all the trouble."
Sakura liked the young man already and she turned to look down at Sasuke "Sasuke-san! Come have lunch with us tomorrow! I'll get you some more fresh tomatoes!" Sasuke was stuck; he didn't want anything to do with them, but he couldn't let such precious, good tomatoes go to waste.
"Aa." He said after a long silence, making Sakura mentally jump from joy. She was so happy she couldn't take it! Naruto inwardly sighed. He was about to completely reject to the idea, but when he saw how happy Sakura was, he quickly dismissed it. Her happiness came first, above everything else and he would do anything for her, even live through a couple of hours with the bastard.
"Hurry up Dobe, don't drill your messed up mind with unnecessary daydreaming." Sasuke exclaimed, now several feet away from him. Naruto growled; make than one hour!!
"Teme! One day, I will beat you up until there is nothing left of you!"
"Oh yeah? Let's just see you try!" Sasuke retorted.
In the front, Sakura and Itachi secretly smiled to themselves, knowing that this is just the beginning of a long and weird friendship.
I hope you enjoyed it :D Please review!
Sadbird