Chapter Three: Smile
'I wonder...I wonder what his name is...'
Thoughts of her anonymous friend kept overflowing her mind when she was training with her teammates the very next morning at the Training Grounds. Every time she thought of him, a smile always crept onto her lips without her even realizing, and butterflies danced around in her tummy.
The sunlight reflected down upon her and it was a rather hot day in Konoha.
"Sakura, keep focus!" Kakashi snapped in mid-air, causing Sakura to flinch as her head jerked up, and he was about to make the first attack on her.
Instinctively, she promptly jumped backwards, gracefully landing onto a sturdy but humongous tree branch, and she softly panted.
A sigh escaped her Sensei's lips as he adjusted his hands onto his sides once he had safely reached the ground. Kakashi looked up into the trees, directly looking at her, and raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"You seem awfully distracted Sakura..." he remarked calmly, his voice trailing off, and then asked, "Mind telling us what's on your mind?"
Her two other teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, then abruptly appeared right besides her Sensei.
The three of them all carefully stared up at her, immensely suspicious, and Sakura flinched.
She averted her eyes to the left, avoiding their gaze, and felt guilt consume her. Her face was flushing of crimson-red, utterly mortified, and she gulped.
"Uh... I guess I've been having trouble sleeping..." she lied sheepishly while biting her lip and she refused to look at them.
"Why don't you go home for today and rest?" Kakashi suggested with a sigh, not fully believing her, and he put a hand onto the side of his head.
"Alright. Sorry guys..." the pinkette apologized guiltily while frowning and she jumped down from the tree.
"Sakura!" a voice called from afar and the four of them turned around to see Ino sprinting towards them.
The blonde came to a halt once in front of them and panted wildly.
"S...Sakura! Your mom said the hospital called and that they want you to come in early today!" Ino exclaimed panting, a bright smile on her face, and she chuckled.
Sakura blinked her eyes puzzled and then aloofly shrugged. "Oh, alright. I'll go there right now."
"Oh hi, Sasuke-kun!" Ino greeted flirtatiously, clenching onto the Uchiha's arm, and he flashed her a glare as he bitterly mumbled something under his breath.
Suddenly, Ino gasped as she released her grip on Sasuke, and she walked up to Sakura with a mischievous smirk.
"Your mom also told me that you've been talking to some guy on the Internet and she read part of your conversation. So...who's your new boyfriend?" Ino inquired smugly, her smirk remaining, and she chuckled triumphantly.
Sakura's emerald eyes immediately went wide and she felt her heart skip a beat. In less than a second, Sakura's cheeks were flushed of a very dark scarlet-red, and she felt paralyzed with fear as her heart began pulsating thunderously.
'Shit.'
"He's...HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Sakura protested ferociously, her eyes remaining wide as embarrassment was bombarding her, and her cheeks were redder than any tomato.
"Oh come on! Who is he anyways? Is he that guy that just moved here? I heard he was a hunk!" Ino exclaimed as a dreamy sigh escaped her lips and then giggled.
