Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club.

Prologue - Mean

The tweets came in.

Each one being posted by a different user in seconds and followed by a spitfire of replies, comments, and GIFs galore.

"I knew it. She was always playing with us. #SayonaraSakura"

"Wooow. Finally, someone said it. #CancelSakura."

"Our country's sweetheart? More like our country's sweet disappointment. #OutwithSakura"

"Guess I'm gonna burn my CDs now. Can't stan with someone who's a liar and a fake. #SayonaraSakura."

Strangers, trolls, former fans, and even celebrities put their two cents in all social media platforms. Facebook had the comment wars, Instagram had the twisted photos of her, Snapchat videos were sent with discs being thrown in the trash can, and Twitter had its arsenal of less than 100 word posts come up in rapid succession. Each of these had one thing in common - Sakura Haruno was no more.

One after another, the hashtags were seemingly reaching infinity. Each post was harsher than the next and news outlets and articles were spewing titles with - "What Happened to Sakura Haruno?" or "Just In! A Star Lost its Twinkle Because of a Leaked Video!" and the worst: "Sakura is Cancelled! In-depth reveal on who was in the wrong!"

A bitter laugh had escaped from her reddened lips as her fingers traced upon the words on her phone screen.

Cancelled.

Since when did it become okay to simply 'cancel' out a human being?

But with the amount of people saying it, it came across as a social norm. To her, however, it was asking if she should simply to disappear.

Or worse - to die.

A beeping sound came from her cellphone, which brought her back from the dark thoughts. Another tweet notification came in, tagging her username on the post to catch her attention. Just a minute ago, her publicist came in and said it was better for her to turn off the phone while this madness was occuring. Sakura agreed but her curiosity didn't stop her. As the pop-up came, it gave her two buttons: to delete or to view. Sakura chose the latter.

Oh, how she wished she didn't afterwards.

"Guess a nail should be hammered down on the coffin of what's left of your career. Better off for her to be dead so the world would stop obsessing over another two-faced celeb #HelltoHarunoSakura."

Fame, stardom, and the public eye came hand-in-hand and celebrities often had to train themselves to form a thick shell so they don't break down. Millions and millions of people had their eyes on them and whatever action they make will elicit a response that is either good or bad. Right now, what was released of her was not in the people's favor. So much so that there were people asking her to kneel over and be gone This was the first that had become so out of hand that her only reaction was to freeze and read the words - over and over and over again.

Soon enough, the words were etched and echoed in the back of her mind.

"What the hell are you doing?" Her publicist caught her and snatched the phone from her hand.

When she glanced at it, her publicist frowned and sighed. "I'll... keep your phone for now. Is that okay?"

Wordlessly, Sakura nodded. Just a tiny bit.

Her longtime publicist, Shizune, had been with her since the start of her career. She always knew what the next stage was and had a plan B for everything. Unlike what most people thought of what publicists were, Shizune was the opposite. She never let Sakura go through anything that made her feel uncomfortable and always consulted her with upcoming plans. Shizune was warm and she was like a family member now after years of working alongside her. However, this was the first time that Sakura saw how frazzled Shizune was and she knew why.

"In about ten minutes, you have to start packing your things and getting out of New York." Shizune advised evenly.

"Wait... why?" Momentarily snapped back to reality, Sakura glanced up at her in confusion, "What for?"

Shizune breathed. The obvious pained look on Sakura's face was enough for Shizune to understand.

Another phone was given to her and there was someone on the other line.

"This is for you," Shizune said gently.

Sakura placed the phone firmly on her ear and then, she spoke. "Hello?"

"Sakura?"

It had been a longtime since she had heard that soothing voice.

"Mom?"

"Sweetie..." Her mother trailed off, relieved to hear her daughter respond. From the sound of it, her mother - and possibly, her whole family - had already caught whiff of the news. Sakura had to press her lips tight, preventing herself from spilling the water droplets of tears from her eyes.

"Come home."

A/N: This concept had been rolling in my head for months so I needed to write it down and feature another guilty pleasure crossover couple. I hope you all enjoyed, despite it being a prologue. I have no Beta so please forgive me if there are any grammar errors. I'll look it over and remove it as soon as possible. Let me know what you think - reviews and constructive criticisms are highly appreciated!