I remember the day well…

The day my life would change…

Change for the better…

It was a hot August day, the eighth. The cicadas were screaming, and the sun was bearing down on me. I didn't particularly mind it; the walk to school was always nice throughout the year, but today was especially beautiful. The trees gracefully danced in the gentle wind, their green leaves floated and swayed with the thin branches. The grass glistened with the sun; the sprinklers had just stopped running. I breathed in; the air was crisp and fresh, and smelled like freshly cut grass. The smell reminds me of watermelons, and food cooking on the barbeque. It was nostalgic. I smiled at the thought. Today was certainly going to be a good day.

I pranced into homeroom, and sighed as I watched my best friends, Naruto and Sasuke, argue over tedious things. Well, Naruto was getting worked-up over nothing, and Sasuke simply answered in sarcastic remarks. We were unlikely friends, and we always fight. I remember the day we all met.

Our homeroom teacher, Kakashi Hatake, wanted me to help him review his assignment on each students future that he had us fill-out today. Mr. Hatake's plan was have the student's fill-out another one when we become first years in highschool, and afterwards compare them to now, when we were first years in junior highschool.

"Mr. Hatake, it seems we have a slight… problem," I mumbled under my breath as I nervously shuffled through the papers.

"Hm?" Mr. Hatake looked up from his book. "And that would be?"

"W-well, I-uh," I was so flustered, even if he was just my homeroom teacher. I hid behind my fringe. "It seems two students, Na-naruto and Sasuke, haven't filled out the paper at all. They haven't turned them in at all."

"Oh, I see. That is quite the problem. I'll call them here immediately," Mr. Hatake abruptly got up, and walked out the door. Five minutes quickly passed, and Mr. Hatake returned with Naruto and Sasuke. "Alright you two, I'm not allowing you two to leave until you finish the assignment, so I suggest you get it done."

Naruto groaned, "But I already turned it in!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I didn't see it in the pile," I squeaked. I tried not to make eye contact with him. I staggered over to him, and handed the assignment to him. "If you need help, you can ask me."

I quickly glanced at him, and I noticed his face had turned red, "R-right. Thanks, do you think you could help me then?"

"S-sure," I smiled at the blonde boy. I turned my attention to the dark haired boy. "Do you need any help?"

"Hmph," the boy simply grunted, and pretended to be paying close attention to the assignment.

"Oh, alright, sor—"

"Don't take that from him! Tell him he's a bastard!" Naruto shouted at me. "Don't be so submissive to a jerk like him!"

I nodded at the blonde, and I turned my attention back towards the dark haired boy. "H-hey! It isn't polite to ignore people!" They both stared at me for a moment. The blonde busted a gut laughing, and the dark haired boy smirked a bit.

"You aren't too bad, but you'll definitely need some work. Don't worry, I'll help you! The names Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto smirked as he held out his hand to me.

I grabbed his hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Sakura Haruno." Naruto's grip on my hand tightens as he violently shook it.

"The bastard's name is Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto stated briefly. I couldn't tell if they hated each other or liked each other. I chuckled as they began to argue. I could get used to this.

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura!" I shook my head, and noticed Naruto waving his hands like crazy. "Why are you standing over there? Come over here!"

"Okay okay, I'm coming!" I strolled past Ami, Kasumi, and Fuki. My pace quickened, but Ami stopped me.

"Hey Billboard Brow," Ami smirked as she flipped her dark purple hair. "Don't get ahead of yourself just because Sasuke has blessed you with his presence."

"I-I'm not getting ahead of myself, Ami," I stuttered as I drew up all my courage, just like Naruto told me to do.

"Excuse me? Did you just try and talk back? To me!?" Ami growled. I took a step back. I started to sweat and shake. Kasumi and Fuki laughed as Ami began to approach me.

"Alright class, please take your seats," Mr. Hatake's voice made Ami stop dead in her tracks. I hurried past the three girls, and sat down in front of Naruto. "Hold in your joy, kids, but as you know the annual Senju Festival will be coming up soon, so we need to pick something that our class will do. I need the committee member to come up. I'll have you take over, and I'll get out of your hair." Mr. Hatake took his chair, and sat by the window reading his book.

Rock Lee approached the front of the room. He was probably the best committee member as he was very enthusiastic and had a lot of school spirit. Rock Lee spun around, "Alright everyone, we should aim for the best in whatever we do! Does anyone have any youthful suggestions?!"

Naruto's hands shot straight up, "How about a ramen stand?"

Rock Lee wrote 'ramen stand' on the board, "I like your enthusiasm!" Rock Lee looked out into the class, but no one else seemed to have any ideas. Rock Lee frowned, "What about a youthful performance?"

"What about a beauty pageant? There are mostly girls in this class, so it'd work out well. Plus, Ino has been in them since she was younger, so I think we could pull it off," Neji inquired frankly. The girls murmured, and agreed that it would be fun.

"Wouldn't it also be good to invite girls of different classes to participate? We could ask Principal Tsunade if we could use the gym, and we could put money together for prizes," I suggested. The beauty pageant sounds like a great idea, but fitting it in the classroom wouldn't work.

Ami sneered, "Yeah, right! No way would that idea would really work, idiot."

"Actually, Ami," Mr. Hatake interrupted. "That is actually a good idea. Do we have any objections to this idea?" Mr. Hatake scanned the room. Ami, Kasumi, and Fuki raised their hands. "Alright, nobody has objected, so I'll ask the principal for permission afterschool."

The final bell rang loudly over Mr. Hatake's babbling. I gathered up all my school books, and gently placed them into my brown bag. I twiddled the cherry blossom charm that Naruto gave me between my fingers. I chuckled to myself, he was so cheesy. I felt an arm snake around my neck as they pulled me into their chest.

"Wha'cha laughing about, Sakura?" Naruto questioned as he got closer to my face.

I quickly pushed him away, "N-nothing in particular, you i-idiot!"

"Don't be like that, Sakura," Naruto pouted.

"I hate to bother you two lovebirds, but I need to talk to you, Sakura," Mr. Hatake butted in.

"We aren't anything like that—" I began to protest.

"The first step is denial, Sakura!" Naruto playfully said. He smirked at me, and winked.

"Oh, whatever! What do you need to talk to me about, Mr. Hatake?"

"Well, regarding our activity for the annual festival, I forgot what our activity exactly is…"

"You forgot?!" Naruto and I simultaneously gasped.

"Now, now, it's not like I forgot, I just believe you would be able to voice the idea better."

"Is that so? Then tell me, what exactly was the activity idea?" I raised an eyebrow at him. I was comfortable around Naruto and Mr. Hatake. I could be… myself.

Mr. Hatake ran his fingers through his gray hair, "Well… it was a performance… of some sort?"

Naruto and I groaned, he did forget, "A beauty pageant."

"Right, right, whatever. Anyway, I wanted you to ask the principle for permission for our activity. You're a lot more convincing than me, and you're a trusted top student. She's much more likely to agree with you."

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess I'll try to convince her…" I grabbed my schoolbag and followed Mr. Hatake to the principal's office. I timidly knocked on the door, and waited for a reply. I stood there for a second, and waited. Mr. Hatake walked up to the door, and knocked loudly. A loud 'come in' was heard from the other side. Mr. Hatake winked at me with his only visible eye, and I walked into the office.

The blonde woman looked up from her work, "What can I do for you, Sakura?"

"W-well Ms. Tsunade, it's about the annual Senju festival…"

"The festival? I don't recall you being a member of the committee," Ms. Tsunade spoke sternly. She was a lovely woman, but she believes in equal treatment.

"I know that, but the idea for the festival w-was mine," I recalled the things Mr. Hatake told me before we left that classroom. "I believe that I am the one to voice the idea best, and I feel I have the responsibility to ask you directly."

Principal Tsunade smirked, "I see. I'll let it slide just this once. So, what is your idea for the festival?"

"Well, I think we should do a school-wide beauty pageant. Anyone and everyone can participate; they just have to sign up. I don't have everything completely down yet, but we have Ino Yamanaka in our class, and she has competed in beauty pageants before. I think she could help. If not, I'll do research and—"

"That's enough, Sakura. However, where do you intend to host this beauty pageant? I don't think the classroom is large enough for that activity."

"I was going to ask you if we could use the gymnasium to host the activity. Our class will decorate and clean the gym up afterwards."

"I see… I'll think about it. I'll give you a solid answer tomorrow morning."

"Thank you for your time, Ms. Tsunade." I turned away for her, and left her office.

"What did she say?" Mr. Hatake asked as soon as the office door completely shut.

"She told me she'd think about it…"

"Don't beat yourself up about it; just bug her about it when she comes home." Mr. Hatake walked away, and I giggled. Mr. Hatake was a crafty old man.

I dug the key into the keyhole, and busted through the door. Wearing a blazer today definitely wasn't smart. I practically tore it off my body. I jumped on the couch and turned the fan on. I closed my eyes and sighed in utter delight as the fan blew a huge gust of cold air on me. I opened my eye to check the time. It was 5:48 P.M. I pushed myself up from the couch, and made my way into the kitchen to start on dinner: chicken breasts and alcohol. I sat up the kitchen table with a table cloth, fancy napkins, wine glasses, and candles. I took the chicken breasts out of the oven; they were a beautiful golden brown color and seemed to be moist and tender. I set the food on the table, and poured wine into the glass. I heard the front door open, and I ran to the doorway.

"Welcome home, Auntie!" I sang as Tsunade was locking the door. She turned around, and smiled at me.

"Thanks, Sakura," Tsunade walked over to me, and kissed me on the forehead. "Something smells good, is dinner ready?"

"Yes, please sit down and enjoy the meal." I watched as Auntie Tsunade groggily walked into the kitchen. Tsunade gasped loudly.

"Sakura, I love you! You're the greatest niece ever!"

"I love you too, Auntie." I smiled as I sat down across from Auntie Tsunade. Chicken is her favorite food, and I kind of want her to say yes to the beauty pageant idea. I watched as she gobbled down the chicken. I'm pretty sure all the fat she consumes goes to her boobs and butt.

"So," Tsunade swallowed the chicken, and took a huge gulp of wine. "I really like the beauty pageant idea; I'll help you plan it out and whatever else you need."

"I thought you believed in fair treatment, Auntie?"

"I can spoil you at home, can't I?"

"I guess so. Thank you for offering to help, but you work so much already and—"

"Well, then we'll have Uncle Jiraiya help out. He doesn't do anything but write porn books and drink my booze!"

I laughed, but it was sad because it was very true, "Thanks, you're the best Auntie ever!"

"However, there's something you have to do for me in return."

"Eh? What would that be?"

"You have to participate in the beauty pageant."

"Oh, oka—wait what?!"

"You don't have to win or anything, I just want you to participate."

"But why? I'll only embarrass myself."

"Don't say that, Sakura! But, I think you should because it would be fun, and good experience."

"And if I say no?"

"Then no, there will be no beauty pageant."

"Alright, fine. I'll do it."

A/N: Well, this chapter fell a thousand words short of my goal, but I thought this was a good place to end the chapter. It's only the beginning, but I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I'm really excited about this story, so I'm hoping to get another chapter in tomorrow or the next. Please review!

I also have a question, if Sakura had a talent, what do you think it would be? (I.E. singing or dancing) I don't really have any good ideas, (or any talents either lmao) so I'd appreciate some help! If you have an idea, you can either PM me or leave it in a review. I hope the next chapter is 3,500+ like I planned. Look forward to it!

~setsuka-kun