This has three prequels. If you do not read them this will not make a lick of sense.

Naruto grimaced as his stomach grumbled again. The blonde boy shifted uncomfortably from his sprawled position on his bed. He'd run out of money (again) and it was still a few days until his check was supposed to arrive. Normally, the monthly check was enough to cover all of his living expenses, but Naruto had stupidly blown it a few days before on more paint for his pranks.

Though the pranks had been fun (pouring bright pink on Mr. Sasagawa, putting glow-in-the-dark spots on the feral cats in the back alley, giving the nasty woman upstairs a new, brighter color for her door…), Naruto now regretted that he had not waited a few more days to insure he had enough to eat till his next check. Or maybe just bought less paint this time around…

Idly, Naruto allowed his chubby fingers to trail up to the sturdy chain that hung around his neck. Without thinking, he pulled the rest of the chain from underneath his shirt and began to run his fingers along the rings on it.

His parents' wedding rings.

Nothing had become more precious to Naruto than the two silver bands. That, and the note hidden between Naruto's mattress and the box springs. Naruto still hadn't figured out who had dropped the rings and note off, but he swore to himself he wouldn't stop looking till he found him. Though technically, Naruto wasn't sure of his mysterious benefactor's gender…

Meh, whatever. He'd find him eventually. It'd been a few months since then, and Naruto had just turned five. Jiji had said that he could attempt the academy's entrance exam when he was five. Once he was in the academy, Naruto just knew he'd be learning all sorts of cool ninja skills and jutsu. Then, he'd find his anonymous note-leaver or sure! Believe it!

For now, though… it was time to go meet Jiji at the academy. The old man had promised to go through a few last-minute tips on what to practice for the entrance exam. Naruto couldn't wait! His first step into being Hokage was finally here!

"Sakura! Hurry up! You're going to make me late." Mebuki Haruno's voice called from the front room. Sakura jolted from where she had been reading her book. Complicated words that a normal five-year-old would never be able to read were sprawled uniformly across the page. Sakura glanced down at the book again and made note of the page number before closing it.

Ninety-seven… Ninety-seven… Ninety-seven

Sakura whispered to her mind over and over again as she slotted the heavy book back under her bed. She didn't want to forget what page she was on.

"Sakura, come on! I mean it! One, Two, Thre-"

"I'm right here, Oka-san." Sakura said as she entered the front room. A couch sat against one wall and an old, un-used TV sat directly opposite on a dusty entertainment center. They hadn't been able to afford cable in months. Mebuki Haruno stood next to the front door. One hand rested on her hip in her usual display of annoyance, the other held a heavy work bag with her construction tools and papers for the firm. The blonde woman frowned further and tilted a perfectly plucked eyebrow at her daughter's tone.

"Was that sass, young lady?" Mebuki asked darkly. Sakura flinched.

"No, Oka-san. Sorry, Oka-san." The pink haired child dipped her head and meekly approached her mother. The green on her eyes itched and she had to fight not to scratch them. They'd been itching a lot lately.

"Good. Keep it that way. Hina-san is still sick with bronchitis, so you'll be with me at the construction site today. Don't talk to anyone and don't wander off."

"Hai, Oka-san." Sakura murmured demurely. Mebuki nodded at her daughter's obedient reply before turning and opening the front door. One of the poorer streets in the residential district met her gaze. Here the houses were older, less maintained models that probably wouldn't pass a check on their build-codes. The grass was over grown, and the houses seemed to inevitably lean one way or the other. The roofs on this street were multicolor patchworks thanks to all the leaks that had been barely fixed over the years.

"Come on, Sakura. Stay close to me." Mebuki ordered as her pink haired daughter exited their own worn-down abode. Mebuki quickly locked the door before hurrying to work with swift strides. Behind her, she could hear her daughter's uneven footsteps as the small child tried to keep up. A frown of distaste worked its way across Mebuki's face. Not for the first time, regret and disgust entered her thoughts. If only she could go back in time, she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Sakura hated going out with her mom. Especially to job sites. The only thing at the construction sites that she could do was sit and calculate angles and that was no fun at all. Besides, even if she found a wrong one, Oka-san had forbidden her from telling anyone. Plus, all the men there were stinky! Sakura didn't like stinky old men! Eww!

Sakura let out another long, drawn out sigh. Well, at least they weren't in the market district today. That place was always so loud. Going there had always given Sakura head aches and she was relieved not to have to wait there for hours. Instead, Oka-san had brought Sakura to a place the child had never been before.

This new place was right at the base of the Hokage mountain. Above it, the stern visages of all the past hokages gazed down at the village.

The building itself was some sort of white brick or perhaps cement. The roofing appeared to be a rather expensive bronze paneling. Some parts, like the entrance, were painted red. Sakura looked at the design in confusion. Normally, the less angles a building had, the less expensive it was to build. Yet this building was very expensive apparently. The entrance way was a rectangular add-on to a circular three-story structure. Heading off from the circular part of the building, a long rectangular corridor extended for a few rooms before turning right at a ninety-degree angle. Once more, the white off-shoot continued for a while before again turning right at a ninety-degree angle. The end result of this was an almost U-shaped building with a circular tower at one end. Personally, Sakura thought it was a waste of money but could not deny a certain ascetic value.

Either way, she'd never seen it before and was rather curious as to its purpose. Why build a building like this? It wasn't someone's personal house, she'd already seen several ninjas and officials walking in and out. Sakura pondered it as she watched attentively.

A government building, maybe? There did seem to be a lot of people walking in and out with important looking scrolls and documents…

Management, then. Most likely military management if Sakura was to judge by the large ratio of ninja that seemed to enjoy jumping in and out of the upper windows.

Her question resolved, Sakura allowed her attention to wander once more with another drawn out sigh.

There was a swing close by the entrance. Merely a rope and board hung on a tree, but perhaps she could do that for a little while. Goodness knew Sakura needed the exercise. She rarely got to physically exert herself with her mother's paranoia always curtailing any adventurous excursions.

Mind made up, Sakura left her mother's bag and trotted to the rope swing. She plopped herself on the wooden board and hastily began to pump her legs up and down. The wind began to curl through her pink hair as she began to swing. Sakura closed her eyes in pleasure. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all?

"Hey!" An angry voice interrupted Sakura's rising mood.

"Huh?" Sakura blinked her eyes open to see a blonde boy glaring up at her. Sakura slowed the swing to a stop as she regarded him curiously. The boy had blond spiky hair that reminded Sakura of something she couldn't place. Maybe she had read something in a book once? Or maybe he was a Yamanaka? They had blond hair. Though… Sakura didn't think she would catch a Yamanaka dead in such paint stained clothes. Weren't they all fashionistas or something? Sakura had never met them but she had heard of them from the old lady selling oranges at the market. Though… the woman was old and gossipy so maybe she had been wrong? And even if she were right family wasn't always exactly like each-

"You're in my swing!" The blond boy accused. Sakura blinked as her focus returned to the present.

"Yes? I am?" She asked as she tilted her head cutely to the side. The blond blinked at her for a few moments and Sakura wondered if she had said something strange again. She resisted the urge to itch at her eyes.

"Um… it's okay. You can swing too." The boy looked pointedly away from her and his cheeks lit with a bright blush. Sakura observed the strange reaction with a frown. Had she insulted him some how and made him angry? His cheeks were awfully red. Sakura had only seen Oka-san's cheeks go that red when customers didn't want to pay in full after a job had been completed. She didn't think she'd done anything to make him angry…

Perhaps he was mad because she was in his swing? Sakura could give the swing up, but she really didn't want to. She hardly ever got to swing and if this boy owned the swing he probably got to play with it every day! Sakura could hardly imagine such a pleasure.

Nope! She definitely wasn't giving up her chance to swing. But… maybe they could share?

Sakura was small for a five-year-old and the boy seemed pretty small too. The seat of the swing was a good bit larger too…

"Share with me." Sakura demanded.

"Huh?" Now it was the blonde's turn to be surprised.

"There's room for two, and we both want to swing. So, lets swing together." Sakura explained. She scooted to the side of the board and gestured for the boy to take the other side. The boy blinked before grinning.
"Okay!" He belted out before hopping onto the board alongside Sakura. It took a moment but eventually the pair began to pump their legs in tandem. Slowly but surely the swing began to move. Sakura grinned wildly as they began to rise and fall. She giggled at the feeling of the wind in her hair.

"I love swinging!" She announced happily. The boy beside her grinned.

"ME TOO!" He shouted gleefully before falling into a bout of cackling. Sakura joined him, though she giggled instead. For a few more moments, the two were silent as they enjoyed the feeling of the breeze and the rush as they ascended and descended from the sky together.

This was so much fun! Somehow, it was even more fun swinging with someone else than it was alone. When swinging alone, all Sakura got to do was push her legs up and down. Now she was swinging her legs and pulling her side forward in tandem with someone else. If they didn't move together it wouldn't work. Somehow, doing this joint act was exhilarating. Relying and working with someone else was so much fun!

Was this what being friends with someone felt like? But didn't friends know each other's names? Sakura turned to the blonde boy.

"What's your name?" She asked. He blinked and looked over at her with a grin.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Who're you?" He asked buoyantly. Sakura blinked at his exuberance. She smiled. Was he excited to be friends too? Did he know she wanted to be his friend? Sakura wanted to think so. Naruto seemed to be enjoying playing together just as much as she was.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. Its nice to meet you." There, she had even used the manners Oka-san made her practice. A moment of silence echoed between them and Sakura felt a little nervous. What were they supposed to talk about now? She'd read about friends in books and friends were supposed to enjoy talking to one another. Taking a leap of faith, Sakura tried to open up an avenue of conversation.

"I'm here with my mom. She's working on a construction project here. Why are you here?" She asked curiously. Unless she was mistaken this was some kind of administration hotspot for the ninja forces. What could Naruto be doing here?

"I'm here to see Hokage-Jiji. He's going to help me study for the academy entrance exam." For a moment, Sakura froze in surprise at hearing Naruto's irreverent way of referencing the Hokage. Frantically, she looked about to see if any scary ANBU were coming to take them away.

Nope. Just a clear, blue sky. Maybe Naruto was allowed to talk that way about the Hokage? Or maybe the ANBU were just busy elsewhere? Dismissing it at as fluke, Sakura turned her attention to the rest of Naruto's statement.

"Academy entrance exam?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Yup! This is the ninja academy and admin-is-stray-shun center. It's where people start learning to be ninjas and where real ninjas get their missions! Hokage-Jiji is supposed to meet me so he can help me learn some more before the test. Its in two days! If I pass, I can start attending classes at the academy. I'll be one step closer to being Hokage, believe it!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. He seemed to get really excited about learning to be a ninja.

"You want to be a ninja?" Sakura asked.

"Uh-huh! I'm gonna be really cool and really strong and then I'll protect everyone in the village, so they'll have to like me!" Naruto declared.

"If you're a ninja, you can protect people?" Sakura asked in confusion. Oka-san had always said ninja hurt and that they'd kidnap her and take her away if she ever talked to one or got into trouble.

"Of course! That's what all the ninja do now for us! They protect us from the fiends of Iwa and the other bad guys!" Sakura listened intently as she nibbled her lip. The way Naruto described ninja didn't sound like her Oka-san described them at all. Naruto's descriptions sounded… cool. For a moment, Sakura imagined it: someone who could fight and harm but chose to do so in a way that protected instead. She wished someone like that would come along and protect Oka-san. Sakura's mother always seemed so scared of the world.

A scary idea entered Sakura's mind and she shook her head violently to get rid of it. Nonetheless, it remained.

"Sakura? What's da matter?" Naruto looked at her with concern and Sakura realized how strange she must be acting. Still, this was important. She'd act 'normal' later.

"Can anyone become a ninja, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, if they can enter the academy and pass all the exams. Why?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Do you think I could be one?"

"Ehh? You wanna be ninja too? That'd be so cool! Maybe we could be in the same class and become awesome ninja together! Ney, Ney, take the exam with me. You seem pwetty smart, I bet you could pass!" Sakura was barely listening anymore. Her heart thumped rapidly inside of her chest as her mind spiraled out of control. Her mother would never knowingly allow it… but maybe… maybe Sakura could be the good ninja that swooped in and saved everyone. Then Oka-san wouldn't have to be afraid or scream anymore!

"Hai! I will!" Sakura grinned over at her new friend. She was about to ask about the time and place for the exam when she was interrupted by an elderly voice.

"Have you found a friend, Naruto?" The voice came from far below. As one, Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other before slowing the rapid motion of the swing. They had been going quite fast.

The speaker was an old man. The elder wore a white over coat, a red robe tied with a white sash, and an odd-looking hat. The hat was shaped somewhat like the grass hats Sakura had seen farmers wear but was made out of a different material and red instead. It also lacked the grass hats' distinctly circular shape. Instead, the hat looked more like a rhombus or diamond but kept the coned point of the grass hat. The front tip was whit with red kanji and white fabric hung down around the sides like some kind of veil. The man's skin tone appeared tan and wrinkled with age. Three wrinkles dripped down from each eye in such perfect symmetry that Sakura somehow doubted their authenticity as wrinkles. The man puffed softly at a wooden pipe in his mouth.

"Jiji!" Naruto belted out. The blonde hopped energetically off the swing and ran over to give the old man a hug.

"Hello, Naruto." The old man returned Naruto's exuberant greeting with his own calmer tone. Seeing the grin shared between the two somewhat eased Sakura's unease, but she was still thinking on who Naruto had claimed to call Jiji.

The Hokage.

Most powerful ninja in the village and he was right there! What if he summoned the ANBU and they took her away? She'd never get to see Oka-san again!

Sakura summoned the dregs of her courage and tried to make herself appear normal. Maybe if he thought she was just another citizen he'd go away? Normal people were polite, right? Like Oka-san wanted her to be.

Carefully, Sakura stood and brush down her green dress self-consciously before stepping forward.

"Greetings, Hokage-sama." Sakura didn't know whether to curtsy or to dip her head in respect. So as not to appear rude, she did both. The Hokage chuckled and Sakura dared to look up. What she saw relieved her. Mirth had crossed the Hokage's stern face and warmth lit soft pools of fire in his eyes.

"Hello there, Little one. What might your name be?"

"I am Sakura Haruno, Hokage-sama."

"I see. Its nice to meet you, Haruno-chan. I'm afraid I'll have to steal your playmate now. We have some important studying to do, right Naruto?" The old man looked to the child still wrapped partially around his legs.

"Right!" Naruto agreed excitedly. However, he quickly frowned. "But what about Sakura-chan? She wants to be a ninja too. Can she come and learn as well?" The Hokage frowned a little and turned to look back at Sakura. Instead of mirth, his visage now held intense scrutiny. Sakura felt as if she were a bug under one of the magnifying glasses she had been reading about.

"Is that so, young lady?" The Hokage asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I-I would like to enter the academy and train with Naruto." Sakura stuttered out. Her heart had somehow increased its tempo even more. Sakura wondered if it would try to jump out of her with all the extra exercise it was getting.

"Normally, students don't begin taking academy classes until they are seven or eight. However, enrollment is open for all that can pass the entrance exam. Tell me, do you know how to read, Haruno-chan? Can you write and calculate numbers?" Sakura blinked at his question. Of course she could do that, even babies could!

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sakura allowed a little of her inner cheer to show in her voice.

"In two days' time, the entrance exam will take place here at 8:30 in the morning. Normally, you would need special approval to apply to take the entrance exam. However, since you and Naruto seem to be such good friends, and I'm sure you'll support each other, I'll allow you a special pass. When you come to take the test, give the examiner this form. Make sure to have your guardian sign it and fill out all of the necessary information." The aged ninja reached into his outer robe and pulled out a stack of paperwork. He had been planning to help Naruto fill out the forms today, but he could always print out another set later. With a smile, he handed the forms to the little pink haired child. There was nothing Sarutobi loved more than seeing the youth of Konoha filled with the heart of fire. Normally, he really would have her mother petition the council to take the exam early, but it seemed as though Naruto had finally found a friend and Haruno-chan seemed very well spoken for a child of her age. Turning Sarutobi caught a long look at the grin Naruto shared with his new friend.

Yes, Sarutobi was sure he had made the right choice. Even if one of them wasn't quite able to keep up with Academy curriculum, Sarutobi was sure they would help each other out. Sarutobi waited until the children had given their goodbyes before tugging Naruto away. While he was sure Sakura would do fine from her clear speech alone, Naruto still needed to review some of his reading skills.

Its finally here! I had such a hard time deciding where to start this because technically I had so many choices on how they meet and what was going to happen. Still, I really like this one. No stupid crush on Sasuke! YAY! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will likely be written... within the next month? Maybe? Meh, see you then!

~Blitza