I like this chapter and I tried to make it as sweet and fluffy as possible. Again, thank you for reading :)
Disclaimer: Yeah...still don't own Naruto...
They were ten years old when Naruto was protected.
The three best friends were heading to do their first weekly shopping in Konoha market. It seemed that no matter what Sakura said, Naruto and Sasuke just wouldn't buy the right portions of food and she was worried about their health. As a result, Sakura blurted out one day that they would go shopping together every week in order for the two boys to learn how to shop by their own. They weren't exactly pleased with the idea of doing such a troublesome chore, but one glare from Sakura shut them both up.
As they were strolling along, Naruto and Sasuke were bickering over Sakura's head and humiliating each other in front of everyone. Sakura just sighed, so tired of their constant yelling and tried to block them out of her head, but it seemed impossible since their yelling just seemed to be getting louder, attracting more attention.
"The day you will defeat me will be the day hell freezes over dobe!" Sasuke yelled from Sakura's left side. She twitched, her anger rising on each comment they landed on each other.
"Well get ready for that to happen then, Teme! Cause I will kick your ass all the way…" that's it. Before the two knew what happened, they were stuck to a tree with several kunais embedded in their shirts, which rendered them immobile unless they wanted to ruin and rip their shirt. They stared at the reason of their imprisonment and gulped at the dangerous aura that radiated from their pink-haired friend.
If her face could get any redder, it would clash horribly with her hair, Sasuke mused, but he chose preserve his life and not say that outloud.
"You…two" Sakura fumed, her hands shaking and twitching, wanting to strangle them so badly. The two boys, flinched, silently praying for their safety the closer she got to them. It turned out the Sakura was one of the very few people they feared on their list, since they never had the heart to hurt her. "One more word out of you that leads to ANY fight, there will be no more tomato soup and no more RAMEN!! And I mean it! " she threatened.
Naruto quickly nodded, when Sakura was serious, she will never back down on her word. Sakura was satisfied on Naruto's part and trapped Sasuke with her death glare when he didn't do or say anything "well?" she said, tapping her foot impatiently. She didn't have all day.
Sasuke was NOT being ordered by a girl…just threatened. Swallowing up his pride for his sweet, precious tomatoes, he huffed, growling a small "fine" before closing his eyes. Before he could regret his decision, he found himself on the ground after Sakura took out the kunais with a smug look on her face.
"Sakura-chan! Now my shirt is all torn up in places." Naruto whined, observing a small example of Sakura's wrath. The pink-haired girl smiled at him, "Don't worry Naruto, I will stitch it for you tomorrow" Naruto ran out of excuses and gave her a huge grin, same old Naruto.
"Anyways, let's go back to shopping, I have to make sure you (pointing at Naruto) don't fill your kitchen with Ramen and you (Pointing at Sasuke) get the right amount of food" both of the boys huffed, crossing their arms as they followed their little pink-haired friend.
Once they reached the market, which was blooming with life and happiness, Sakura ran towards the vegetable shop first and took out the bags to start filling it with many varieties of vegetables. She looked at the owner who was staring at them warily for some reason.
"Ano, I would like some of everything except the pickles and radish." Sakura said sheepishly to the shop owner. He looked at her for a while and placed all the types of vegetables she requested. "Can you put some extra tomatoes please, sir?" Sakura added politely. She noticed Sasuke's face perk up as the owner added some extra tomatoes. She giggled quietly and thanked the adult after giving him the money.
And so it went on, Sakura would stop at almost every shop and ask for some of each, getting more of whatever her friends and her loved. An hour later, they were each walking with two bags in their hands. Sakura was satisfied; she did her job and each of her friends had the necessary nutrition they need to stay healthy. Right before they left the market, Naruto accidentally bumped into a child who was a bit younger than him, knocking her to the floor.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Naruto said kindly, extending a friendly hand towards the young girl to take. She smiled and nodded, about to take his offered hand when they heard a female shriek a few feet away from them.
"Kaho! Get away from him!" Her mother yelled, running hysterically towards her child. When she reached, she pushed Naruto away roughly, making him fall to the ground harshly. Without a care if he was hurt or not, the mother collected the child in her arms and glared down at Naruto.
"You stay away from my child you monster! What were you trying to do to her?!" the mother held her child protectively in her arms, her yelling catching everyone's attention as they stared at the blond-haired boy in the ground with disapproving glares. Naruto didn't answer back to her outburst as he stared at the ground, his bag of grocery all on the ground, dirty and destroyed. Before anyone can do anything else, he was surprised when he saw two pairs of feet in front of him, shielding him from everyone's view. He looked up, seeing Sakura and Sasuke standing in front of him with their arms spread open as an act to protect him.
"Naruto didn't do anything! It was an accident! He even apologized!" Sakura said, her emerald eyes now sharp jade, protective of her friend. Everyone was shocked that someone like her was protecting someone like him.
"You better leave and let everyone continue on to what they were doing" Sasuke said coldly, turning back to take his share of bags in one hand while the other reached out towards Naruto. The Kyuubi holder stared at the hand for a while before finally going out of his shock. He clasped Sasuke's hand firmly; as if afraid he might recoil at his touch.
Whispers could be heard everywhere in the market as Sakura collected whatever was left of Naruto's grocery and placed them on her bags. They were also staring at Sasuke with surprised eyes, talking about the massacre of the clan. It seemed that even after a year, he was still looked upon and pitied by the eyes of the citizens in Konoha and Sasuke hated that more than anything. He wanted to run away from their stares, be gone from their sight. When Sakura was done, she went back to standing next to her scared and quiet friend. She held his hand, but before they can leave, the same mother recoiled back.
"Where are your parents, young lady? Do they know that you are hanging out with a monster like him" she spit out, glaring so hard at Naruto to the point that he took a silent step back. Sakura glared back at the woman who dared to talk like that to Naruto when she didn't even know him. Why was she calling him a monster?
"Hai, Hai. Calm down lady. They are just kids. Just leave, nothing happened to your child." the three academy students heard someone saying behind them. Shocked, they turned around, having not sensed the jounin's presence until he spoke. He had grey hair that leaned on a weird angle with a mask covering his nose and mouth. His right eye was the only visible thing of his face, since his left one was covered by his forehead protector. Beside him was another jounin with dark hair and a cigarette in his mouth.
"You know what happens if you continue bringing attention to the children here." The same jounin said, glaring with his one eye. The mother looked at them, considering his words for a moment before huffing.
"Make sure this never happens again, boy." She cast one last glare at Naruto before leaving the market with her child safely in her arms. Sakura let out a sigh of relief before she turned towards the jounin and smiled at them.
"Thank you jounin-san!" without another glance at them, she forcefully placed her bags in Naruto's left hand as she grabbed his right one along with Sasuke's left hand, pulling them along with her. Both boys reacted upon her action. Sasuke was surprised at how warm she was and unconsciously, clasped her hand tighter, looking away so as no one would see his blush. He suddenly felt safe when she held his hands back firmly, as if she knew how tense he was around the people's curious eyes.
Naruto was surprised at how she pulled him out of his revere. After he was able to make up what just happened, he slowly regained back his giddiness as he smiled and clasped Sakura's hand just as tightly, feeling warm and loved. For the first time, someone has protected him from all the glares the people of Konoha would sometimes cast his way.
For the very first time, he thought as he looked at his pink-haired angel with tender eyes. His gaze then went towards his rival, who stood beside him when he was unable to protect himself. He wasn't that bad as well.
"Thank you" he whispered, really thankful. Both his friends heard him and gave out a small smile, silently whispering one word to him.
'Anytime'
When they reached Naruto's apartment, Sakura all but demanded to be the one who placed all the food he bought in the refrigerator. Naruto's eyes softened when he saw her put some of her portions in his fridge, since some of his groceries were squished and dirtied back in the market. When she was done with her task, she cast a big smile and bid Naruto goodbye.
"Let's go Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke has offered to take Sakura home and she was glad he did. She suspected he did it to make sure she arrived home without bumping into any stranger.
"Sakura-chan" she heard Naruto stop her before leaving. Sasuke silently told them that he would be waiting downstairs; feeling like this is between his two friends. When he was out of sight, Naruto clasped his friend's hand tightly. Before Sakura could say anything to Naruto's sudden reaction, she was kissed in the cheek softly. To say that she was surprised would be an understanding, for this was highly unexpected of Naruto to do this. Naruto ran a hand through his golden hair, grinning with a small blush on his face.
"Thank you Sakura-chan." He said again after he saw his pink-haired angel regain back her original color.
Sakura knew that this was a friendly kiss, for his feelings were loud and clear. He was thanking her. She couldn't help but give him her usual smile, lightening Naruto's heart greatly.
Sakura met Sasuke downstairs with her own bag of groceries. It seemed that Sasuke was impatient since he was late for his training in the forest. Sakura just had to roll her eyes, noticing that it was only sunset.
"It's about time. Come on." He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards her home. Sakura smiled at his protective hold and knew that even if he didn't show it, he cared deeply about her and Naruto. It was just a matter of time.
Sasuke felt his insides warm up every time he held her hand, but he'd rather die than let her know that. She would never know how much she meant to him, it was better this way.
Once the two reached Sakura's house, Sasuke didn't know what to say for today. The only thing that he could possibly say was…
"Thank you Sakura" his beautiful onyx eyes bored into Sakura's emerald ones, surprising her greatly. It felt to her that Sasuke was expressing his gratitude with eye contact and Sakura was completely okay with that. She smiled and nodded, telling him silently that she was there for him. That she was there for both of them.
'Anytime'
Thank you for reading and please review! I hope I didn't make Sasuke look very...er...how do you say it? Naruto-like? eh....yeah.
Again, I apologize for any mistakes. Next chapter will be so much better!!
Sadbird