Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Welcome to my World ❯ Goodbye ( Chapter 1 )

Sakura's P.O.V

“It's freezing!” I exclaimed. I hugged my half-cut coat closer to myself, trying to block out the slight fall wind. Beside me, Ino tugged at her mini shorts.

“Tell me about it. This weather is horrible. I hate Autumn.”

I sighed and leaned on the little railing on the bridge that we were standing on. The only reason my best friend hated the cold was because it meant no more tank tops or mini skirts. I looked over at my friend, who's long blond hair was up in a sophisticated yet sexy ponytail. Ino's intense blue eyes were furrowed in frustration; she wasn't even wearing a jacket.

It's not that Ino was a slut, it was just that wearing revealing outfits was the only way to make the guy of her dreams even turn his lazy head in her direction. Personally, I was no fan of bad-boy Shikamaru. I wasn't one to talk, though. My crush was the worst bad-boy in the town.

“Hey, Sakura.” Ino's eyes focused on me suddenly. “You're the best.”

There was a moment of silence as the Autumn breeze sped up between us. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That wasn't like my best friend at all. Sure, Ino had her moments, but a sappy compliment out of nowhere?

“Is something wrong, Ino?” I asked. I suddenly caught sight of the tears welling up in my best friend's eyes.

Ino sniffed angrily. She hated showing weakness. With a frustrated tug on her shirt, she muttered something I couldn't comprehend.

“…What?”

Ino was suddenly furious. She turned around and kicked the bridge-railing angrily. “AAAH! I HATE THIS!!!” She kicked until her white flip-flop flew off and went sailing down into the river below .I watched speechlessly, wondering if she was going to go get her shoe.

“Ino?”

“I'm MOVING!” Ino was breathing hard, her face red with anger. “My house is EMPTY! The moving people have been coming for the past three weeks! I'm gone…I'm gone right now.”

I stood for a moment, my green eyes wide. “W-what?” I swallowed hard. Ino was…leaving me? Ino was my only friend. Only, single, sole friend, and she was leaving as of…right now? “Why?”

Ino just shook her head, crying openly now. “My mom got a job, and-” she never finished. The last thing my best friend did was embrace me in a tight hug. “I-I'm happy, Sakura.” She was smiling into my pink hair, squeezing me tight. “I'll be away from Shikamaru, maybe fix up my life a little? And you…” She took in a deep breath. “Just…know that you are amazing, Sakura. You always have been. And I promise you, Sasuke Uchiha is about to notice it.”

With those words she turned and walked off, leaving me stunned. I never saw her after that; the familiar house I'd been visiting since childhood was empty the next day. But it was like she'd cast a spell, because her last words about Sasuke seemed to shatter the barrier he'd always put up, the barrier of ignoring me and never even looking my way. Things were definitely about to change.