Warm Hugs and Coconut Milk

The Day The Sun Met The Flower

In which Uzumaki Naruto finally gains a family, even if that comes in the form of two of his best friends.

Warnings: Neglect, mental breakdown

Disclaimer: Naruto by the one and only Masashi Kishimoto is not owned by me in any way, as much as I would like it to be...

Looking for Betas!

If Uzumaki Naruto was one thing at this moment, that would be numb.

Another miserable day of being ignored by all the residents of Konoha, Naruto sniffled. If only he could just have one friend, someone who will finally notice him, care for him. He felt as if each day was just making him lose his mind. He was surrounded by so many people, yet he felt so alone. Maybe if he just disappeared, no one would notice. They don't even notice that he's there, so what's the point?

He walked to the park earlier, hoping to find at least one group of kids his age compassionate enough to let him play a round of ninja or even a simple game of tag. To his misfortune, they all avoided him as if he was one of the bijuu. He left shortly after being called a freak by one of the older kids, and now he sat at the empty playground.

As he sat alone on a swing, he felt his eyes burn and his vision began to blur. 'Why doesn't anyone care? Why...Why does everyone stay away? I've never met them, but they walk past me as if I don't exist.' He began to cry, his nose dripped with salty clear snot.

A small gasp made him furiously whip his snot-covered face up before putting his head down again. From what he glimpsed at, a small girl wearing pink saw him. The boy wanted to ignore her, not wanting to deal with the embarrassment that would bring by attempting to bring unwanted communication.

Small, sandal-clad feet approached him, the scratches against the dirt grew louder as she came closer.

"Hey, um, are you okay?"

He stayed silent, unable to speak from the giant blob stuck in his throat. All that was heard was his sniffles.

After a while, he eventually swallowed his tears and looked up.

...Only to meet with a pair of concerned, yet sparkling emerald gems.

He yelped, pushing himself away from the girl and falling onto his back. Looking up at her, he noticed she wasn't wearing pink, she had pink hair. Pink hair. It was so unusual, yet to him, it was the prettiest color he had ever seen a girl possess. Her attire consisted of a small short-sleeved yellow dress, the skirt reaching just above her knees for her legs to move more freely. Only her sandals were pink, matching her hair. Then she spoke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

Her voice sounded so warm, so soft compared to the mean old bullies he had to deal with at the academy and in general. His eyes teared up again for some reason, and he began to sob. The girl was overwhelmed, worry shown on her face as she tried to calm him down, to no avail. Figuring she had no other choice, the child wrapped her arms around the quivering boy and pulled him to her chest. He immediately grew silent but continued to shake as his body felt the heavy pressure of sadness.

"I saw what those meanies told you."

He whimpered, curling into her for warmth.

"It's okay now, they're going to shut their big fat mouths next time they insult you."

He stopped shaking and gave a small giggle. He lied in her arms, tense and unknowing to trust this strange girl. He felt her grip his body securely, the smell of jasmine petals and rosemary drifting into his nostrils. "W-why are you still here? Why did you decide to try and make me feel better? Haven't you heard the adults and other kids telling you to stay away from me?"

The girl giggled, but it held no humor. It almost sent chills down his spine. "Simple, I don't let myself be influenced by those who I don't value the opinions of. I am my own person, and I let myself be the judge of who to stay away from."

Naruto shifted in her arms, feeling lost at such big words he hadn't learned yet. He faced her and gazed at the girl with his pained blue eyes, noting guiltily that he stained her once pretty, clean dress with his bodily fluids. "But that doesn't answer my question. Why would you help me? You could've just ignored me and went wherever you were going."

The girl frowned, but patted his head gently, "You were crying, and what kind of person would I be if I just ignored the guilt in my chest to help a crying person?" She suddenly smiled kindly, "Plus, what kind of friend would let their future friend cry by themselves?"

Naruto felt himself tear up, "Y-you want to be my friend? I've never heard those words before..." The girl pulled him up to his feet, and he immediately grabbed onto her to balance himself. "Well, duh. I don't exactly have friends either and it would mean the world to me if you'd be my first!"

He shakily smiled and gratefully took her hand, "Yeah, okay. We're friends now." He gave her hand a small shake, figuring he would put his mannerisms to the test.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name?"

She smiled widely, her eyes sparkling.

"Haruno Sakura!"