One - Realizing mistakes

Am I even capable?

Looking at him from afar, a shadow was cast over my mind and heart. Ever since I joined the Ninja academy, one person managed to grab my attention unlike any other.

Uchiha Sasuke was very different from the other boys, he was hard-working and talented, and rarely would he stop to rest or have fun. I saw his hellish training from afar and got captivated by his demeanor, unbreakable will to become stronger, and attitude against those that would criticize him.

Sasuke didn't care about how others thought about him, he had a goal in mind and his eyes would never stray away from it, unlike me.

Looking back then, I think I now know why I felt so drawn to him. Due to my lack of confidence in my appearance, I always felt inferior to other girls because initially none of them wanted to be my friends.

They only ever insulted my appearance, saying that my forehead was giant, calling me ugly, and excluding me from their circle. Truth be told, there wasn't any difference between me and them. If there was any, it would be my naturally pink hair.

Sasuke though didn't need that, everyone was always looking up to him, they took the initiative to approach him, wanting to be his friend, his followers, or his girlfriend.

I wanted to be like Sasuke that could rely on himself for everything, unlike me, who can only manage this miserable day-to-day life thanks to Ino's assistance. I wonder if Ino didn't exist, would I be even sadder? Would the other girls hate me even more?

"Sakura, are you listening?"

Ino asked once more. What did she say?

"Sorry, Ino... I was distracted."

Ino nodded knowingly as she looked over her shoulder and caught the figure of Uchiha Sasuke training on the grounds behind the academy.

"I see, he is very distracting, isn't he? Every girl likes him, I bet you do too, don't you?"

Ino glared at me, hostility clear in her voice.

I lowered my head and pondered at her words. Do I really like him? Or am I mistaking my feelings for something else? Sasuke and Naruto... I want to be more independent... just like them.

Those questions started popping up in my mind a week ago.

...

I was by myself, wandering around the nearby woods inside the village. It was a beautiful place with many benches to sit on, and flowers all around.

Although I don't understand much about them, not as much as Ino, I could still appreciate the beauty in their vibrant colors and the peace that surrounds them.

I wished I could be as beautiful and as carefree as them, living without worries and not having to care about those that would wish to see me sad.

Then he came.

This annoying kid with bright blond hair and blue eyes. He isn't that bad appearance-wise. Actually, he was quite cute given his exotic appearance. I didn't know any other person in the village with the same hair color. In a sense, it could be said that we were siblings in terms of uniqueness as we were the only ones in our village with such different features compared to others.

But I don't like being around him... the adults are always whispering about him. Calling him a demon, and telling us to stay away from him. My parents had also told me to stay clear of his path. Naruto was a danger both to himself and those around him - or so they say.

I never understood their words, and I still don't... but it makes him a little scary. I can never stand his presence, and I don't get why keeps bothering me. It's so annoying! Does he do that to make me angry? He's just like those girls!

"Hey, Sakura! How are you?" Naruto spoke in his usual cheerful way. "You also like coming to the park! It's such a good place for a morning jog, isn't it?"

For some reason, I was already starting to get annoyed. I had been working so much those few weeks because of the stupid test tomorrow in the academy, and now he comes here to disturb my peace of mind during the holiday!

"Naruto! What do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to relax!" I asked with anger on my face.

"Ahh, sorry, sorry! I was just wondering if you'd like to eat ramen with me! It's almost time for lunch, I was about to go there but then I saw you and came to take a look." He responded with a smile while moving his hands around. Naruto has a strange habit of gesticulating a little too much, he can't seem to keep his hands still while talking.

"Don't lie to me! I've never seen you around here before, how come when I decide to come here to rest on the holiday you're also here?!"

"Ah, Sakura-chan, please hear me out. I swear I'm not following you around or anything... I always come here to train and... and... watch the fish swimming in the river." Naruto looked down with his lips quivering a bit.

Is he telling the truth...? I don't know... he's so annoying... I just wanted to rest, if he didn't bother me so much at the academy I might have believed him, but I can't be sure.

Frowning, I gave him a sidelong glance while turning my head away. Naruto seemed a little depressed. His eyebrows twitched a little as the expression on his face turned into one of defeat. Keeping his hand inside the pockets of his jacket, he turned around and started to leave.

Naruto is so strange... I never really thought much about him, and when I saw the scarf his wearing, more questions popped up.

Unable to ignore my curiosity, I looked at him in wonder and ask the question that was on my mind.

"Hey, Naruto... what's with the scarf? Why do you wear something so worn out?"

It was, after all, an unusually cold day of spring. I could understand why he would be wearing winter clothes just like me, but the red scarf didn't seem to fit with him given its current state.

"Oh, this..." Naruto stopped and looked at the scarf on his neck. His eyes clouded a bit as he thought about something while shaking his head. "It was damaged in a fight, that girl fixed it for me and gave it back after some time..."

"Huh?" Fight? What fight? And what girl?

I was so confused about it. Still curious I asked him to explain and we started talking naturally.

I don't know how, but we just started speaking to each other as if it was the most natural thing in the world. We weren't friends, but topics kept popping up here and there and we somehow went to Ramen Ichiraku together.

Naruto was slurping his bowl of Ramen. He really seemed to love it, when I asked why he drank even the soup that remained after he finished the noodles and the rest, he said it was because Ramen was the best food in the world.

"Do you always eat here?" I looked around in wonder.

Ramen Ichiraku was a small establishment on the outskirts of the leaf village's rebuilt district. This part of the village was supposedly one of the most affected during the Nine-Tails attack many years ago.

I could vividly remember the descriptions of the incident I had read many times at the academy. It was thanks to my constant studies that I could remember so much and always get top grades in the class.

"Yes... it's difficult to cook and I only know how to grill fish, but it doesn't taste as good as the ones in the restaurant so I always come here. It's cheap and tasty so it can always help me when I'm too hungry."

Once again, Naruto kept giving me strange impressions. Why would he be 'too' hungry or have to care about the price?

"I don't understand, don't your parents cook for you?"

It was at that moment that something struck me. Ever since I met Naruto I had always ignored one fact about him, my mind could only focus on the warnings my parents gave me, the rumors the people of the village kept whispering about, and how angry he makes me feel.

The thing I kept ignoring was the fact that Naruto... was an orphan, just like him... just like... Sasuke...

Naruto lowered his head and bit his lips, he seemed sad and looked like he was trying to keep his emotions in check, I wanted to apologize but before I could, he regained that cheerful look on his face and spoke as if there was nothing wrong.

"I don't have parents so there's no one to cook for me and I don't know how to do it on my own. Rather than waste money on ingredients to cook something, I can save more if I eat food from restaurants... besides, the aunts and the uncles on the stalls don't like me much, they don't let me buy their greens and the raw meat so I wouldn't be able to cook even if I wanted."

When he said those words, I was overwhelmed with guilt. Naruto wasn't as scary as the adults made him out to be, nor did he deserve to be treated like he was by most people in the academy. He wasn't annoying just because he was annoying... his lack of manners was probably because he had no parents to teach him.

I couldn't imagine myself living without my parents. Just not having friends made me cry every day after school. If I didn't have my parents to comfort me at home... I would probably have dropped out of the academy already.

Then another thought struck me. How strong was Naruto to withstand so many people bashing him every day without anyone to comfort him? Despite being treated so badly, I've never seen him cry or complain. Sure he looks quite depressed from time to time, but he's always eager to... train?

At that moment, my thoughts shifted again as I started to see his figure aligning with Sasuke's for a moment.

Both had tragic childhoods... both were isolated, either by choice or by circumstance, and both desperately trained every day to become stronger. If there was one difference between them besides talent, which Naruto seemed to lack, it would be... that everyone likes Sasuke, while everyone hates Naruto.

I felt like my heart was broken at that moment. I've always treated him like a pest, pushing him away because he was scary and annoying, and ended up hurting his feelings just like those girls did with me. How could I do something like that? Why couldn't I remember that Naruto was an orphan just like Sasuke?

"N-naruto..."

He turned to look at me, shock was plastered across his face.

"I-I'm so s-sorry... sob..." The tears fell from my eyes uncontrollably.

I couldn't believe my actions in the past. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt.

I remembered pushing him away, causing him to fall on a river during an excursion organized by the academy. I remembered insulting him because I wanted to watch Sasuke's training when he interrupted me, I remembered ignoring him when he asked to be my sparing partner when he had no one do it with him in the academy.

The more I thought the worse I felt and the more tears I shed.

"S-sakura-chan! W-what's wrong? Why are you crying!?" Naruto panicked and came to me as he asked worryingly.

Seeing how concerned he was, the panicked look on his face... even though I did so many bad things to him, even though I treated him like that...

Naruto, you're such a good person and so strong as well, I wish I could be like you, never cry despite the obstacles and the difficulties on the way. You're strong and independent... I think... I think I understand why I started to like Sasuke. It's because I wanted to be just like him... just like you...