Over the course of the next year, after the incident which resulted in her getting practically kidnapped by Shisui Uchiha to prevent Danzo from doing the same Sakura was pestered incessantly by none other than Sasuke Uchiha for some reason "I don't get it" Sakura grumbled.

In a foul mood like usual because no matter how many times she told him no, he asked her again to come over "Me either" Naruto shrugged, while Ino groaned under her breath, probably feeling a little jealous that her crush was giving their mutual friend attention.

Even though Sakura didn't give Sasuke the time of day "Nothing for it I suppose he'll stop eventually" Ino sighed, straightening in her seat after reigning in her urge to snap at Sakura for stealing Sasuke, despite it not actually being like that she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous.

Just then the cause of all their problems lately showed up and tried to sit down in their row with them "There's not enough room Uchiha-san, go sit somewhere else please" Sakura informed politely when she was squished uncomfortably between her two friends.

"Fine, anyway if you're not doing anything after academy let's out, you can come over to my house" Sasuke offered yet again, when he stood, realizing that there really wasn't enough room for him to sit and Sakura wanted a blackhole to open up and swallow her.

When Ino scowled at the offer "Sorry but I already have plans after school, with Ino-chan and I also have lessons with Naruto-kun's mom, Mrs. Uzumaki, who is teaching me very important things" Sakura grumbled out, hoping he'd get the hint finally and leave her alone.

Sasuke thankfully left to find somewhere else to sit at that and throughout the rest of the day tried to persuade her to change her mind about going over to Ino's "You do that plenty from what I hear, so I don't see why you can't just ditch her this once" Sasuke scowled.

Irritated that she was being stubborn about the whole thing as he caught her alone without the Dope and Yamanaka "Because if I did that Ino-chan would never forgive me" Sakura glared, how dare Sasuke suggest she ditch Ino, she wasn't that type of friend.

Not that he seemed to understand since he didn't have any friends "Come on, it's just one time" Sasuke grumbled, determined to get his way, at his mother's demand, otherwise he wouldn't even bother in the first place, but now it was becoming a personal goal to get Sakura to agree.

"Leave me alone Sasuke and for the final time no" Sakura finally got fed up with basically being cornered and somehow managed to escape so that she wasn't late for the final class of the day, and she really didn't want to tell Ino what had taken her so long when the blonde asked.

But she was honest like usual to Ino's frustration as they practiced with throwing weapons and afterwards worked on their taijutsu until they were dismissed "See you tomorrow for academy Sakura-chan" Naruto waved when Sakura took Ino's hand and sped off to avoid Sasuke.

Who had probably intended on asking yet again, though the girls did wave at him, they were soon out of sight "Geez slow down would you Sakura or did you miss Fu that much when he went off on his 2-week C rank mission" Ino snorted in amusement.

Prompting Sakura to stop "You mean Fu-kun is back" the pinkette asked breathlessly, reminding the blonde that she hadn't informed her friend of that yet "And sorry I just really didn't want to be asked again, he needs to get a new hobby" Sakura admitted sheepishly.

Now walking at a normal pace "Good one Sakura, but yeah, he got back in last night" Ino snickered feeling bad about being jealous, it's not like Sakura was inviting Sasuke to pester her, in fact she'd made it clear that she wanted him to leave her alone several times over the past several months.

Though upon arriving home the girls found the shop overrun with customers "Ino-chan there you are, sorry to ask but could you help, Fu-chan is inside if you don't mind hanging with him for a bit Sakura-chan" Aiko called when she spotted her daughter and Sakura stood in the doorway of the shop.

Ino shrugged and quickly donned the shops apron in order to help, while Sakura headed further inside and found Fu on the couch tending to his weapons, only looking up when she sat next to him "The shop was full of customers" Sakura explained.

When he glanced to the door expecting Ino to come through any minute "Ah and so she was asked to help, it does happen sometimes" Fu guessed, pulling Sakura closer as she pulled out a book "Is your classmate still bothering you by the way" he asked.

Being mindful as he put his weapons away for the time being "Yeah and I really wish Sasuke would leave me alone, I can tell Ino-chan is just getting more and more upset with me over this, I don't want her to stop being my friend Fu-kun, but I don't know what to do anymore since he won't stop" Sakura confessed.

Looking fairly upset herself over the situation, Fu frowned, then glanced surreptitiously to the door "Ino, as much as she likes him Sakura-san, adores you too much to stop being your friend, I promise" he assured, lifting her chin with his hand so that she could see he was telling the truth.

Upon looking into those aurulent colored irises Sakura blushed cutely to his amusement before settling against his side more comfortably, feeling a little better now that she had his reassurance on the matter and for the rest of the time, she was waiting for Ino to finish, read, while Fu tended his weapons.

Meanwhile upon arriving home himself, Sasuke was confronted with his mother "I told you Sasuke-chan to invite Sakura-chan over" Mikoto put her hands on her hips when her youngest entered the house without the girl she was trying to set her son up with.

"I did, but she keeps saying no mother, besides she had plans with Yamanaka again, she also has something to do with Uzumaki's mom apparently" Sasuke scowled in an irritable mood it seemed as he took off his shoes and stomped into the living room, like the moody little 9-year-old he currently was.

Realizing that her plan wasn't working Mikoto decided that it was time to come up with another idea "Guess I'll go ask her parents directly" the Uchiha Matriarch nodded to herself and after making sure Sasuke was doing his homework and that dinner was well on its way to being ready.

Headed out and arrived at a nice little house in the civilian sector of their village "Hello, my name is Mikoto Uchiha you are Sakura-chan's parents aren't you" Mikoto greeted when the door opened, and she was faced with a man who had pink hair like his daughter.

"Quite, Kizashi Haruno at your service, so what brings you over Mikoto-san, Sakura didn't do something to trouble you did she, it's unusual because my daughter isn't the type to do such things" Kizashi inquired, hoping that wasn't the case and thankfully it wasn't.

As Mikoto shook her head "No such thing, I was just hoping to arrange a playdate between our children, their such good friends but it seems Sakura-chan is always busy, so I was hoping to commandeer a day for her to play with my son, perhaps tomorrow" Mikoto explained.

Fibbing just a little bit, but hopefully Sasuke and Sakura would become friends after this and set her plan in motion to marry them someday "Hmmm, well tomorrow is her day off from lessons with Kushina, so I suppose it would be alright" Mebuki appeared.

Wondering what was taking her husband so long and arrived in time to overhear the other woman's request "Tomorrow it is then, thank you so much" Mikoto smiled, quite pleased with herself that she'd managed what her son hadn't so far.

Imagine Sakura's surprise after returning home, thanks to Fu who had offered to walk her back, when her parents informed her about the playdate with Sasuke Uchiha, something she clearly wasn't enthused over in the least "I thought you were friends with Mikoto-san's son" Kizashi frowned.

"No, I'm not and I don't want to be friends with him cause he's making Ino-chan hate me" Sakura cried, knowing this would be the straw that broke the camel's back, being asked over constantly was one thing, but having Sasuke's mom manipulate things where she had no choice but to go over, would make Ino hate her even more.

She also felt like she could no longer believe in Fu's assurances on the matter, "Surely Ino-chan will understand, so for now you'll go over tomorrow, be good for Mikoto-san and then we'll never make you go back if you don't want" Mebuki remarked.

Hugging her child who was distraught over potentially losing her best friend, never mind that she adored Naruto equally, there was just a difference between the two "Okay" Sakura sniffled, sitting down at the table to eat supper before heading upstairs to bathe and go to bed.

And her parents soon joined her in slumber, the next morning Sakura was obviously still upset as she trudged out the door after breakfast "I can't believe that woman lied to me" Kizashi frowned, a little irritated himself that Mikoto had lied about Sakura being friends with her son.

"Yes, I'm fairly upset myself over that" Mebuki nodded, gathering what they needed for the stall and afterwards they headed out the door themselves to open for the day, meanwhile as was the norm Sakura caught up with Ino halfway to the academy.

Where she decided to be honest about being forced to go over to Sasuke's the next day "WHAT...you know what I'm sick of you stealing Sasuke away from me, so consider our friendship over Sakura" Ino shouted, taking her anger out on the innocent party.

Before storming off "Ino-chan no, please, it's not my fault, Sasuke's mom was the one who asked, she lied about me and him being friends, Ino-chan" Sakura cried, desperately trying to get Ino's attention but for the first time since the start of their friendship the blonde ignored her.

Her heart dropped into her stomach, but she was determined to make Ino see it wasn't her fault as she hurried to catch up, though what awaited her in the classroom was more heartbreak as she arrived and found Ino clear across the room sat with Ami, who looked way to happy.

Poor Naruto staring at the slightly older blonde in confusion as Sasuke sat in his usual seat with a smug smile, though upon seeing the cause for her suffering Sakura just couldn't take it anymore as she finally burst into tears and fled the classroom.

Naruto jolted and tried to follow but Sasuke stopped him "Damn it Teme move" he scowled, Sasuke refused to budge though so he tried to get Ino's attention who quite obviously avoided his gaze, meanwhile after fleeing her classroom.

Sakura had barreled straight into Neji Hyuga "Hey wa..." Neji began to snap until he realized the girl was sobbing her eyes out, unsure of the reason and because her tears bothered him for some reason, he began to pat her on the back gently in hopes of calming her down.

But the girl wasn't to be consoled "What on earth" Iruka happened upon the scene a few minutes later, Neji fruitlessly trying to get Sakura Haruno to stop crying as he rubbed her back, though at the exclamation the 10-year-old looked up in relief.

"I have no idea, she was crying like this when she ran into me, and she hasn't spoken a word" Neji explained, gratefully handing off his unwanted duty to the teacher and dashing off to his own class so that he hopefully wouldn't be late.

Leaving Iruka to try and figure out what was wrong "Haruno-chan tell me what's wrong, are you being bullied, I can't help if you don't speak up" Iruka prodded gently but Sakura shook her head staying quiet on the matter and he had no idea what to do.

Ultimately, he left the decision in the principle's hands, who asked if Sakura would be able to attend class, she was quiet, but she did nod, following Iruka back to their classroom, where she sat quietly next to Naruto for the rest of the day, Ino doing her best to not look guilty for some reason as she sat next to Ami.

When academy let out, she followed Sasuke grudgingly "Hello, it's good to meet you again Sakura-san, come, the compound is this way" Itachi greeted, holding out his hand for the tiny pinkette, who worryingly didn't speak a word, merely let herself be pulled along.

Meanwhile Naruto managed to confront Ino "What the hell are you doing, is your stupid crush on that teme more important than Sakura-chan" Naruto lay into the other blonde quite spectacularly as his mom showed up to walk him home.

"Shut up idiot, it's none of your business" Ino scoffed, not letting on that she already felt guilty about the whole thing when Sakura had returned to class and looked upset the whole day, but she had no idea how to apologize as she stomped home, greeted her parents and disappeared upstairs to her room.

Fu however sensed that something was wrong, he just hoped he was wrong about the reason "Naruto-kun, what's going on" Kushina frowned, never having heard Ino insult Naruto before and there was also the matter of not seeing Sakura anywhere, she hadn't been with Ino and the girl would never let herself get a detention.

And so, she focused her attention on her son "I'm not really sure how it started but Ino-chan is mad at Sakura-chan for a reason beyond her control and this morning Sakura-chan burst out crying and that stupid teme Sasuke wouldn't let me go to her, and then she wouldn't even talk to me" Naruto flailed his arms.

Explaining what he knew so far, "Okay then, maybe we should go speak with Sakura-chan's parents and find out what's going on" the redhead suggested and together the two Uzumaki's trekked clear across the village to Sakura's house.

"Ah Kushina...I'm sorry to say but Sakura-chan is not here at the moment if you're looking for her" Kizashi greeted when the two knocked and he opened the door to find out who their visitors were, of course neither Kushina or Naruto were deterred by that.

When they requested to come in "Kizashi please tell me what's going on, Naruto-kun said that Sakura-chan was crying this morning and Ino-chan was quite rude earlier" Kushina begged, wondering what the hell was going on and where the little pinkette was.

Kizashi sighed as the two Uzumaki sat down "Yesterday Mikoto Uchiha came over and told us that Sakura was friends with Sasuke, so wanted to invite Sakura to her house to play, we agreed on today" Mebuki started, only getting halfway through her explanation

Until she was interrupted by Naruto, who informed her that Sasuke wasn't Sakura's friend in the least "We know Naruto-kun, now at least, but since we already agreed to the playdate, we told Sakura she had to go and then if she didn't want to go again, we wouldn't make her" Mebuki sighed.

"Honestly what on earth was Mikoto thinking lying like that...maybe afterwards I'll go speak with her about this issue" Kushina frowned, wanting to make sure Sakura was alright before going to talk to her friend for upsetting a child like this, but currently Sakura wasn't there.

And so, they had no choice but to go home for the time being and Minato instantly noted that his wife was upset about something, meanwhile, during this time, Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura had reached the Uchiha Compound, just a few minutes later than usual.

"Your late" Mikoto was there in the foyer when the door opened admitting her eldest and the pinkette into her home before reaching down to try and hug the girl who visibly recoiled at the action "Right, homework and then you can go play in the backyard" Mikoto smiled, recovering from the rejection.

"Homeworks already done" Sakura answered politely, still peeved that this woman had lied to her mom and that it had caused Ino to stop being friends with her "And I don't think Sasuke needs my help with his" she added, when Mikoto was just about to suggest it.

"Okay, then Shisui can take you outside to play until Sasuke-chan's able to join you" Mikoto offered, eyeing her nephew as he spied on them, at the statement however Shisui bounded forward, scooped Sakura up, who clearly didn't want to be carried and was gone outside in a matter of seconds.

Then focused her gaze on Itachi "Sakura-san had detention that's why we were late, apparently, she tried to skip class with Ino-san, possibly to avoid coming over, I'm not entirely sure to be honest" Itachi explained, though he was still confused, it was the best guess he could come up with for now.

Concerned Mikoto headed for the backdoor to peer out of it and eavesdrop "Come on Sakura-chan don't you want to play" Shisui asked, staring up into the tree that she was currently lounging in, because the minute he'd placed her on her feet, she bolted and quite literally walked up the tree to the highest branch she could.

Displays like that were uncommon is civilian born children and from what he'd just witnessed Sakura had better chakra control than most adults he knew "Not really Uchiha-san, I'd rather read" Sakura called down to him in a polite tone, making it clear that she didn't really want to be there.

"Your being silly Sakura-chan, surely that's not what you do when you go over to Ino-chan's is it" Shisui snorted, attempting to get the child engaged in conversation so that she would come down out of the tree, jade orbs peered down at him.

Probably contemplating his question before shaking her head "We study and train or hang out in Ino's room to play dress up" Sakura answered after a few minutes had passed but said no more to Shisui's frustration as she focused on her book more intently.

Here Mikoto figured that she'd seen and heard enough as she shut the door wondering what to do now that it was obvious Sakura really didn't want to be there "Perhaps I can try Mother, children seem to like me quite a bit, so I have a better chance than Shisui-san" Itachi offered.

Wanting to find out what had happened, and the best way was talking to Sakura directly "Be gentle Itachi-chan, I'll get started on dinner" Mikoto sighed, with a nod her eldest was headed out back to speak with the little rosette she had future plans for.

"Ah Itachi-chan, maybe you'll have better luck" Shisui turned when he noticed his best friend stood next to him after having tried a few more times to get Sakura to come down out of the tree and failed spectacularly at it when she didn't even respond.

Itachi nodded and climbed the tree to sit on a branch opposite the one the 9-year-old was lounging on, green orbs flashed his way, acknowledging that she knew he was there before focusing on her book again "Did Sasuke do something that upset you Sakura-san, we can't help if we don't know what's wrong" Itachi inquired kindly.

"Not in a physical sense and I'm not really mad at him, I just don't appreciate being manipulated" Sakura informed, and it was then that he saw the redness in her eyes, which was a clear indication that she'd been crying an awful lot for some reason that day.

Though he was confused about the last bit she'd mentioned "Manipulated, no one is trying to manipulate you Sakura-san" Itachi remarked in obvious confusion, here Sakura finally closed her book and really looked at him, she was very upset for some reason.

"Then how come your mom lied to my mom about me being friends with Sasuke to force me over today, when I'm not friends with Sasuke and because of this Ino-chan doesn't want to be my friend anymore cause she likes Sasuke" Sakura snapped.

Usually mild-mannered but she was at the end of her patience with things that day "Oh" Itachi grimaced as the truth was revealed, watching in horror as the girl started crying "Oh Sakura-san, my mother never meant to hurt you, I promise" Itachi soothed.

Cradling the girl in his lap when all she did was continue to cry, feeling out of his depth as he rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down until finally her tears abated, not because of him, but due to emotional exhaustion as she fell asleep.

Gently he jumped from the tree to the ground where Shisui peered down at the girl in his arms with a worried frown "Looks like today wasn't a good day for her huh Itachi-chan" Shisui winced, drying Sakura's face from her tears with a handkerchief.

"Yes, and though I'm sure mother had good intentions, it clearly caused a rift between Sakura-san and Ino-san if what she was saying was true and I believe her, no one could be this upset if it wasn't true" Itachi nodded, not sure what to do now, did he take Sakura home or bring her inside.

Before the decision was taken out of his hands "Take her home Itachi-chan and tell Mebuki-san that I'll be by tomorrow to apologize, I never meant to hurt the children, just get Sasuke-chan a friend and future partner if things worked out between them" Mikoto appeared, feeling awful.

With that Itachi body flickered and returned Sakura to her parents for the evening "I'm sorry Mom, Dad, I really did try to be polite, I was even going try and play with Sasuke" Sakura cried upon waking an hour later and finding herself home.

"Don't worry about it for now Sakura-chan, all will be well soon I'm sure, now how about you come down and have supper okay" Kizashi soothed, relieved when her tears dissipated, Sakura nodded quietly and followed him to the kitchen where a plate had been left for her.

And then, when she was done "I drew a bath for you sweetie" Mebuki smiled, ushering her daughter off to bathe while she cleaned up and afterwards, she and Kizashi tucked Sakura in under her blankets where she slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

Though when morning came and Sakura didn't come down for breakfast as she usually did, Mebuki was immediately worried, and in the process of heading upstairs there was a knock "I'll get it, you just check on Sakura" Kizashi offered.

Heading for the door to see who their visitor was "Ah...Mikoto-san, Fu-san, Ino-chan" Kizashi greeted, not to impressed with two of his guests at the moment and they unfortunately knew it as Mikoto winced and Ino flinched, while Fu stood there with a patient look on his face.

"Do you think that I might come in and speak with you and Mebuki-san, I believe that I have some apologies to make" Mikoto sighed, knowing she only had herself to blame for upsetting a child, she really shouldn't have lied in the first place.

"Yes, and I do believe Ino has an apology to give as well" Fu informed, nudging his cousin forward, as Kizashi let the three of them into the house, just before Mebuki came barreling down the stairs with Sakura in her arms, practically yelling that they needed to get her to the hospital immediately.

Causing all of the adults to panic "Please, allow me, Ino, don't you have academy to attend and if I recall, Naruto deserves an apology as well" Fu cleared his throat, holding out his arms for Sakura, Ino nodded grudgingly and left through the still open door, and a second later Fu body flickered to the hospital.

Where Sakura was promptly signed in and given fluids to prevent dehydration from her fever, during this time, Kizashi and Mebuki were scrambling around gathering things to bring their daughter for however long she'd be staying in the hospital.

Mikoto apologizing all the while "We understand, Uchiha-san, but right now there are bigger things to worry about, our daughter...my child has a high fever that could kill her if not treated" Mebuki reminded harshly, not usually harsh, but Sakura was her precious little girl and she took precedence.

Thankfully Mikoto did leave after that and once they were sure they had everything the couple hurried to the hospital, Fu explained that Sakura was already being treated after leading them to her room and they slumped into chairs to wait.

Elsewhere in the village, Ino arrived at the academy and after taking a deep breath she entered the classroom to find Naruto in his usual spot, she knew though that it wasn't going to be easy, when he turned his head and ignored her "Naruto...I'm sorry, please forgive me, especially for calling you an idiot" Ino begged.

Ignoring Ami when the purple haired girl called her name in a clear invitation to sit with her "And what about Sakura-chan, she wouldn't even talk to me yesterday when me and my mom went over to see if she was okay" Naruto scowled.

"Your right that I need to apologize to Sakura, and I would have this morning, but she had a really bad fever, so bad that Fu had to take her to the hospital, for now you're the only one I can apologize to properly" Ino confessed, clearly guilty.

Naruto stared at her with narrowed eyes before seeing that she was being genuine "Okay I forgive you, but don't think it will be that easy with Sakura-chan, she was really hurt Ino-chan" Naruto relented, scooting over and letting Ino into the row.

"I know, Sakura doesn't normally hold a grudge, but she will be understandably upset with me for quite a long time I believe" Ino winced, feeling awful as Iruka arrived and started class, glad to see that at least Naruto and Ino weren't fighting anymore, while having been told by the principle that Sakura was in the hospital right now.

Four days later Sakura woke up from her fever-induced nap "Oh thank the gods you're alright Sakura" Mebuki sobbed having thought the worst, that her daughter was never going to wake up as she reached out and gently hugged the little girl, prompting Kizashi to do the same

"Mom, Dad, what happened" Sakura asked in a rough voice, clearly confused about where she was as she slowly sat up with her parents help and pillows were piled behind her to help her stay upright, before they both held her hands in their own trembling ones.

"You had a fever Sakura-chan, we had to bring you to the hospital where you've been out for 4 days" Kizashi explained gently, looking tired "No, no, no, it's not your fault Sakura-chan, we promise" he quickly assured when she looked extremely guilty.

On her other side her mother nodded in agreement "And guess what sweetie, Ino-chan realized that your friendship was more important than a silly crush on a boy, she's been here every day, asking how you are and talking to you while you were asleep" Mebuki chimed in.

Glad that this nonsense had an end in sight "Really" Sakura sniffled, and her parents smiled, before they were interrupted by a nurse entering the room upon seeing her patient awake the woman called for backup and she was thoroughly checked out by the team that had overseen her care.

"I am happy to note that Sakura-san's fever is gone and if you'd like we can release her now, I would suggest however staying home from the academy one extra day and giving her extra meal portions for a couple of weeks" the nurse declared.

Kizashi and Mebuki considered the thought for a moment "Perhaps later, I'm sure Sakura-chan is still very tired and we'd like time to recuperate as well" Kizashi winced, thankfully Sakura understood as she laid back down to get some more rest.

Letting them go home and sleep, imagine their surprise when they woke to find it way past the time the academy got out for the day "More than likely Ino-chan is there already" Mebuki commented, dressing and feeling better for the first time in days.

"No bet Mebuki" Kizashi chuckled as they hurried to the hospital and just as they thought Ino was there, who probably hadn't expected to see Sakura awake as she was, before dropping into a bow, and apologizing for everything that she'd said.

Sakura bit her lip "You really hurt me Ino-chan, I'm not sure I can forgive you right away just yet... I hope you can understand" Sakura confessed, she did still want to be friends with Ino, but the hurtful words and declaration of no longer being friends had hurt her.

"Yes, I know Sakura and I understand, but I promise to do everything I can to make it up to you and hey if you do end up being friends with Sasuke, I won't get even the tiniest bit jealous" Ino nodded eagerly, at least it wasn't an outright rejection.

And she knew in time Sakura would forgive her "How is Naruto-kun, he and Mrs. Uzumaki aren't mad that I haven't been able to attend fuinjutsu lessons are they" Sakura asked, noticing her parents stood in the doorway which meant she'd probably be home soon and in her own clothes and bed.

"They aren't, in fact those two have been incredibly worried about you Sakura-chan, now are you ready to go home" Mebuki informed, Sakura brightened in response while Ino frowned, "Don't worry Ino-chan, she'll still be resting, just at home for another day" Mebuki explained.

Ino nodded her understanding "So Naruto and I will see you in class the day after tomorrow right Sakura" Ino remarked, hoping things got back to normal soon, though that remained to be seen as Sakura was released into her parent's care and they took her home, leaving her to head back to the shop alone.