Sakura Hatake

Age: 4

"Naruto-sama!"

When Sakura first met the blonde, Sakura decided that Naruto Uzumaki was the opposite of Naruto-sama. He was a runt, for one, a good half head shorter than her. But more importantly, he was quiet, was a stickler for formality and seemed like the epitome of a caged animal.

Her Naruto-sama was loud, brave, outgoing and never gave a damn about rules! (And since Sakura plans to be the disciple of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, as soon as she finds him that is, she will not care about 'Kashi's inevitable reprimand for using a bad word!) Naruto-sama also never cared for what was proper, did what was right, no matter what, and always helped and protected the weak!

This gaki doesn't even have the courage to go swing by himself!

"What do you mean, you shouldn't swing?!" Asked the enraged pinkette. Swinging was one of the greatest gift of life! How can he not want to bask in it!

"I, um, Hatake-san, the elders told me not to do anything that will hurt myself or others. They also don't want me to make a commotion, so I, I can't." Mumbled the shorter blonde, his head bowed down, while his face scrunched up in frustration. It's not that he didn't want to! He wanted to! He just didn't want to get the elders mad at him even more. Or worse get hurt…

"Aish, How many times have I told you already? Call me Sakura, Sa-ku-ra. Okay?" Replied the frustrated girl, scratching her head in bewilderment at how such a person could share the namesake of her great idol, Naruto-sama!

"Although, maybe I should just take that back, since I wouldn't want everyone to know that I'm friends with such a wimpy kid!" Sakura teased, blowing Naruto a raspberry before running towards the direction of the playground swings.

Naruto was surprised, hadn't the pinkette just told him she disliked the way he was? Yet she still considered him her friend…. They just met today!

Naruto wanted to grin, the huge mischievous kinds that the elders reprimanded him against making, telling him it made him look like a "fox", whatever that meant. Naruto restrained himself, reminded by the open look of disdain the elders often gave him, why he never smiled wider than was polite. Sometimes, Naruto wondered if it was the Elders who ran the village, not the Hokage. Sometimes, Naruto even wonders if the Elders are the ones who had a right to "raise him as they see fit", not his father the Yondaime Hokage.

Naruto is shaken out of his thoughts as Sakura hollers for him to follow her.

"Uhm, Ha—Sakura-san, do you really consider me as your friend?" Asked Naruto, blushing heavily, looking at anywhere but the pinkette.

"Yup! But you really gotta grow a spine though, you're tainting the name of my Idol, Naruto-sama, ya know? Also, what's with the "san"?" Replied the girl, swinging on her own, pumping her legs to lift herself higher. While Naruto sat on the dirt ground, looking up at her soar, admiring the way the sun formed a halo around her glowing form. She was radayent—uhm, sparkly? Sparkly.

Naruto felt himself, smile, wider than his normal fake polite smiles but still smaller than a grin. But it was improvement enough. Sakura caught the smile as she was swinging to the top, she returned it and used both hands to signal him to smile wider, using both index fingers to spread her own smile wider. Unfortunately, the pinkette didn't take into account that from that height, without any limbs holding her to the swing's twin metal links, that she would go careening forward, off the seat and into the hard unforgiving ground.

That is, if the blonde ball of fluff called Naruto, did not rush to her rescue and softened her landing with his own body. Once Sakura realized what happened, she quickly got off him; apologizing profusely. But it seemed he wasn't listening. He stayed on the ground, flat on his face, his whole form trembling, presumably from the sobs he was making.

Sakura knew it was rude to laugh at someone when they were hurt, especially if she was the cause of it in the first place, but she couldn't help the little snorts that came out of her small little mouth. The site was simply comical to her.

He was like a yellow ball of fluff—no, a yellow porcupine, playing dead pitifully. It was hilarious and oddly endearing.

Naruto looks up at her, shooting her a menacing glare for laughing at him, or it would have been menacing, if it weren't for the copious amounts of dirt on his face and in his mouth…

This time Sakura laughs at him outright. The blonde boy sat up and continued to fume, but his tears seem to subside because of Sakura's unintentional distraction.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-chan! It's just that you looked like a poor porcupine playing dead! I couldn't resist!" Placated the still laughing pinkette, rolling around the ground, clutching her stomach tightly.

"Sakura-chan it wasn't funny! I'm seriously hurt, 'ttebayo!" Whined the disgruntled blonde, wiping dirt from his face and spitting clumps of them out.

Abruptly, Sakura's laughter stops.

"What did you call me? And did you just shout? I'd never heard speak louder than a mouse! And what's 'ttebayo? That's pretty cool sounding!" Sakura questioned, each sentence louder than the next, her excitement increasing with each passing moment. Naruto was beginning to get dizzy.

He made a move to stand up, putting his hand on his knee to support him, but he abruptly stills as he feels something sticky on his hand. His hands were red…He looked down at his knee, it was bleeding! Naruto, felt like he was about to faint, the Elders would be so angry at him!

"So?" Sakura prodded.

"Uhm, I'm sorry, too many questions…"

"Mahh, and I thought you finally grew a spine when you rescued me, thank you for that by the way, that was really brave!"

"Thank you." Naruto blushed.

"Who are the Elders? You've been talking about them for a while now." Questioned the curious pinkette.

"They, um, they're people who sometimes check on my "gru-growth", Papa said. But more importantly Hatake-san-"

"Nope, I won't listen to you until you call me Sakura-chan again." Interrupted the pinkette, putting a finger in each ear and singing loudly, so as not to hear the blonde.

"S-Sakura-chan, I think I need first aid…" Trailed Naruto, blushing, while pointing down towards his bleeding knee.

"Oh no! Why didn't you tell me sooner!" Shouted the distressed pinkette, looking around frantically for adults around the play ground in order to ask for help.

"I was, but you interrupted me Sakura-cha—"

"Don't get smart with me, Uzumaki!" Sakura interrupted, boinking her fist on Naruto's head.

"Itai! Sakura-chan, it's not good to hurt people who are already injured, you know?" Asked the blonde, rubbing the bump in his head to soothe it, playfully teasing her.

"Hmph, not if they deserve it! Where are your parents anyway? I can't find any adults that look like you." Huffed the little girl, continuing to look around the park.

Naruto's visage darkens and he lowers his head, his bangs covering his eyes.

"Papa is nev—not here at the moment." He replies, sounding sullen.

"Oh? 'Kashi's out a lot too, so I learned to go out on my own. But how about your mom?"

"She—my mother is dead." He replies, as if the words were painfully ripped out of him, his eyes water as he looks up to face Sakura.

Sakura was stuck. Sakura didn't want to handle this. She didn't know how to. She had lost both her parents; she was feeling bitter. But she knew it wasn't right to tell him not to cry because he was lucky it was only his mother. Besides, Sakura had 'Kashi, even when he's gone a lot, he gives his best. Plus she had ninken to play with- that's it!

Sakura then abruptly hugs the sniffling blonde, enveloping him with her thin arms, pushing his face to the crook of her neck, rubbing his shoulders and shushing him. Sakura was familiar with the movement, her 'Kashi has comforted her countless of times whenever she awoke from her nightmares. It was odd being the one to give comfort, but Sakura liked it.

"Ne, ne, don't be sad anymore. If you don't have a mommy, that's fine and if you're daddy is gone a lot, that's fine too. I'll just adopt you as my pet so you won't ever be alone! I'll be a great owner! I'll feed you, house you, give you lots of hugs and spend all my time with you!" Whispered the pinkette excitedly, hugging him tighter.

Something about what Sakura said did not seem right to Naruto but as soon as she promised him that he won't ever be alone again, he felt that he could care less. He hugged her back just as tightly, lifting her in his excitement.

He blushes as he puts her down, apologizing for his sudden actions.

She assures him that it's fine; that being carefree and doing what he wants is exactly what Naruto-sama would do. There's hope for him yet, she said.

That was, until he asked; "You keep saying his name but, who is Naruto-sama?"

The pinkette explodes in a flurry then, spouting factoids about the book, scolding him for not having any idea of its great, magnificent existence. She promised to come back every day, to "train" him to be a proper "Naruto" like Naruto-sama; promising long hours of books, slouching training, and the art of surprise and pranking. Naruto didn't hear a word she said after she promised she'd come back every day. Come back to him.

His first real friend! As he stares at her babble away, he promises to himself that he will protect her with all he has; no one will take away his friend from him, not even the Elders!

Amidst all their erratic thoughts, both children failed to notice that by the end of the day, Naruto's scrape was completely healed under the crusted blood on his knee.