This is set five years pre-series.

I own nothing.

"Hi."

Hinata looks up from the act of nursing a scraped knee to see another girl standing in the street just a foot away from her, carrying an expression of mingled cheer and concern. Hinata's mind scrambles to 'Run!' before she realizes that this isn't one of the kids from before. None of them had pink hair, or green eyes, or a red hair ribbon or a broad forehead.

Blushing, the Hyuuga heiress looks down at the pavement. "Hello."

Taking this as invitation, the other girl sits down beside her. "My name's Haruno Sakura. What's yours?"

As much as Hinata would like to get up, run away, and never have to face this girl again out of the sheer amount of shame boiling in her veins now, she doesn't. Hinata, she hates to admit to herself, is polite; she's been raised right and she has manners. Having manners does not entail leaving Sakura in the lurch. "Hyuuga Hinata," she answers in an undertone, staring intently at her bleeding knee.

Hinata doesn't recognize the name 'Haruno'. This Sakura must either be from a civilian clan or no clan at all for her not to know the name; her father's already having her study the backgrounds of Konoha's shinobi clans, for future reference he says. Hinata likes to think she would remember the name 'Haruno'.

If 'Haruno' is unfamiliar to Hinata, 'Hyuuga' certainly isn't an unfamiliar name to Sakura. Her eyes flash in recognition and she tilts her head in curiosity. "Oh, I guess that explains the eyes," Sakura murmurs to herself. "But if you're a Hyuuga, shouldn't you have been able to…" Sakura trails off, and Hinata's face flushes an even darker shade of red than before.

…fight the other kids off? That's what Sakura would like to ask, and the explanation to that isn't one Hinata wants to give.

Perhaps sensing the awkward turn this conversation has taken, Sakura affixes a bright smile to her face. "Say, Ino and me—" she points to a blonde girl standing further down the street "—were going to go get some ice cream and we have some extra money. Do you want to come with us?"

Well, this is new. Hinata doesn't think anyone's ever asked her if she wants to get ice cream with them before. "I umm… I… I'm not sure…"

Before she can properly object, Sakura grabs Hinata's wrist and starts to drag her in Ino's direction. It seems Hinata will be getting ice cream whether she wants it or not.

-0-0-0-

Half an hour and halfway through a chocolate milkshake later, Hinata is starting to rethink her isolationist theory. These two girls (she's learned the blonde's surname to be Yamanaka) are nice, even if they are a bit mouthy. They did pay for her ice cream after all.

Dipping a spoon into the banana split now entirely devoid of a banana, Sakura smiles kindly at the smaller girl. Ino's fiddling with the jukebox, muttering to herself about old-fashioned contraptions and machines that eat her coins; her empty bowl sits on the table.

"Like I was saying, you've got to know when to get a word in edgewise."

Hinata ducks her head shyly. "You think it would help, Sakura-san?"

"I know it would," Sakura assures her. "If you just say something to stand up for yourself half your problem will be gone. Most of the kids who give you a hard time will back off if you just get a good word in for yourself."

It's an interesting concept. For a word, Hinata can eliminate half of the schoolyard punks who like to make her life miserable would just dissolve into smoke.

Hinata puts her lips back to her straw and gulps down some more chocolate ice cream. This will require more thought.

"I… I suppose it could work."

-0-0-0-

Sakura shakes her head in sheer frustration when she sees that her attempt to make Hinata's life a little easier has had no effect. Either the girl won't take her advice or those schoolyard bullies just can't take a hint.

We're definitely going to need more ice cream.