Chapter One: Strangers, eye to eye

"Wow this is big." A girl with rose colored hair and green sparkling eyes said as she looked at the largest ship in the world. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw it was her friend Ino.

"Well I should hope so because it's what's going to take us to America and where your mother can get off your back about marrying some one." Ino said as Sakura smiled and looked at her. They walked on to the boat and up to Sakura's room where they met Sakura's mother.

"Oh great." Sakura thought as her mother walked towards her with a man at her side. He looked to be a few years older than her and was some what plain looking.

"Sakura, I heard this young man was interested in meeting you and I wanted to see if you two would get along." She said as he walked up to her and kissed both Ino's and then Sakura's hand.

"It's a pleasure to see a beautiful woman such as you Sakura. Ms. your daughter is more beautiful than the way you described her. You left out all the most wonderful features about her and she is indeed an angel." Sakura smiled at the complement.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you to umm….."

"Oh Itachi, Itachi Uchiha. I'm with the Uchiha business company, it's been in my family for generations." He said as Sakura's mother seemed pleased. Sakura shook her head just a little when they weren't looking. Also Sakura recongized his name. She was best friends with his younger brother.

"Yeah mother should be happy, especially if he's a rich snob and also if he's old money. I wish I could give her a piece of my mind. Cha!" Sakura's inner Sakura said as she wished that she could tell this man to take a hike and forget it. But she couldn't.

"Well I must be on my way, I have to get back to Shikamaru before he begins to worry. I love it when he worries about me." Ino said as she left. Within a few minutes, Sakura's mother left as well leaving Sakura with Itachi.

"Oh man, why me? Why must it always be me?" Inner Sakura thought as Itachi smiled at her and broke the silence between them.

"So Sakura, would you like to walk around and talk for a while?" Itachi asked as Sakura shook her head.

"I can't, I have to go and find my friend. We have some things we need to talk about." Sakura said as she left the room. She went to her friend Tenten's room and knocked on the door. The door was answered and saw it was Tenten's husband Neji.

"She's in the bedroom." He said as she passed in to the bedroom where Tenten was trying to find the perfect spots to put her pictures in.

"Should this picture go here? Nope, nope, it can't go there. Or maybe I should put it, aw right here." Sakura heard Tenten say as she organized her pictures. Tenten was a person who loved having all her pictures with her and in the right spots. It bugged Neji some times but then again, it was nice some times. Sakura saw the pictures Tenten had put around and giggled loud enough for Tenten to hear. She turned around soon came face to face with Sakura.

"Sakura!"

"Hi Tenten." Sakura said as she and Tenten came up to each other and hugged.

"Oh wow, you got your pictures in the best spots." Sakura said as Tenten nodded.

"I like it like this. I might want to change it but that will come later." Tenten said as she and Sakura started talking about Sakura's mother already finding more suitors for Sakura's liking.

"I hate it when she does that. She feels that I have to have a husband with old money or else I won't be able to do good. And also that I'll never have a good life. My mother is so all about money. She rates you on your money. It's embarrassing that she's related to me." Sakura said as Tenten nodded.

"Well, just think about it. Next week is your birthday and you'll be eighteen. You'll be able to live where ever you want and will be free. Just remember that Sakura." Tenten said as Sakura left the apartment and went to the docks where Sakura got great views of the ocean before her. She saw the bright sun shining and the birds were singing. The sound of people cheering as Sakura felt the boat move forward.

"I helped build this ship. It took ages to do it but we finally did." Sakura saw it was Itachi and didn't want to put up with him.

"Sakura, now that I have found you, I was hoping that maybe I can accompany you to dinner tonight? I will understand if you don't want but please, reconsider." Itachi asked as Sakura was doing this to get her mother off her back and make him stop begging.

"I'd like that." She said putting on the act for him. Itachi obviously happy, smiled and went off. Sakura rolled her eyes and thought.

"There's got to be a better life than this." Sakura said as she was alone with her thoughts. She soon walked off to her room and unpacked her things. She heard a knock at her door and saw one of her oldest friends.

"Sasuke." Sakura said as they walked up to each other and hugged.

"So I heard about you meeting Itachi." Sasuke mentioned as Sakura walked back to her things and began to un pack.

"I don't like him. He's not what I could want. The only reason why my mother wants me to go out with him is because he's old money. Remember when she tried to get me together with you?" Sasuke nodded and could remember very well. Sasuke had been Sakura's friend since they were kids. They had gone up together, lived right next door to each other, and we're the best of friends. When her mother learned he was old money, she asked him to marry Sakura. Although he was okay with the idea, Sakura didn't want to marry her best friend. Sasuke had been her first suitor that her mother had picked out for her but Sakura had turned every single one of them down. Unless they were old money, Sakura's mother wasn't interested. Since Sakura's birthday was coming up and she would be eighteen, Sakura would run away and find that special some one that Sakura wanted to love.

"Well, just do what you've done to any other suitor and dump him." Sasuke said as she smiled at him.

"That's what I'm going to do." Sakura said with pride.

"Well, I want to get back to some friends of mine. I'll see you later than Sakura." Sasuke said as they had one final hug and he left. Sakura walked out of her room and walked down the hall way and out on to the out side deck. She walked along the rails to see the dolphins were trying to keep up with the boat's speed but slowly faded away into the distance. She felt someone's eyes upon her but she couldn't tell where until she looked down on to the lower decks. She blushed and looked away. She looked at him again and saw he was still staring at her. She saw him wave his hand at her. She responded back by waving shyly back at him. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw her mother.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked sternly. Sakura quickly put her hand down and her mother pushed her along to the inside. She got one last look at him and smiled before leaving.

"So what do you plan to do after we get into America?" A boy in an orange jumpsuit suit, with big blue eyes, and had a too hyper active mood to him said. He looked over to another boy who had blood red hair, foam green eyes, and a kanji sign on his fore head that meant love.

"I'm going to move in with Temari for a while and help her back on feet since her husband left her with the twins. What about you Naruto? Aren't you going to some how find that girl for you?" He asked as Naruto smiled.

"I'm going to try but the thing is Gaara, we have to find a girl for you." Laughter was heard from behind them by a guy who had a black out fit on.

"Come on Naruto. Gaara getting a girl friend? That's some thing I would pay money to see." He said digging into his pockets only to come out empty handed.

"Well that is if I had money."

"Kankaru cut it out. I just haven't found her yet. When I do, you'll know." Gaara said as he looked up to see a woman who had rose colored hair stand in the rich part of the decks of the boat. He stared at her and saw she was beautiful. He had never seen a woman like her before. He could see she had rose colored hair, green sparkling eyes, and a some what plain expression.

"Gaara?" Naruto asked as Kankaru saw what Gaara was focused on and punched Naruto in the side to shut him up.

"Hey, what was that for?" Kankaru pointed to her and Naruto looked up. They both got real quiet to see what would happen. She looked down at Gaara and Gaara looked at her. Both had an immediate connection.

"She's gorges." Gaara thoughts as she smiled at him. He waved to her. She blushed and waved back. He would've gone up there but he saw what looked like her mother go up to her, put her hand on her shoulder, and moved her along from the railing that she was looking over. Gaara felt a little pain in his heart and wished to see her.

"So Gaara, you like to her?" Naruto asked as Gaara chuckled and smiled.

"So. But I don't have a chance with her. But on other hand, I could…."

"Sorry to burst your bubble Gaara but not only is she out of your reach but she's taken." The three men looked to the side to see a man with dark colored hair and eyes, seemed real cool and casual, and was leaning up against a wall.

"Hey Sasuke what did you say?" Naruto asked as Sasuke came by and hit Naruto on the side of the head. Naruto rubbed his head and decided to deal with it.

"I said that Sakura's mother will only let her marry a high class, rich but old money owner person. Sakura can't do any thing about it and not to mention that Sakura is taken." Gaara looked at him with disappointment.

"She's married."

"No. But she's going into a forced marriage though. That's why her mother was there, to tell her about her forced marriage. She has to marry Itachi because she keeps refusing men and Itachi likes her, she has to marry some one, her mother said if she doesn't marry him, then she is no daughter of hers. Sakura is trying to wait because next week is her birthday and when we get off she's going to run off on her own." Sasuke as Gaara thought.

"How do you know all of this exactly?" Kankaru asked as Sasuke told him.

"I know this because I'm her oldest best friend. In fact if you guys don't remember Itachi is my brother." They looked at him with surprise.

"Wow really?" They asked except for Gaara.

"Yeah, I know he likes her and I know she doesn't like him. If she turned down every suitor so far, he'll be just like the others, turned down." Sasuke said as Gaara nodded.

"But still, if only I can see her once more." Gaara thought as he left for his room.