"We don't lose friends, we just learn who the real ones are."

Chapter 1

This story has been inspired by the fic, "We the Wild Ones" by aria206. Check it out! I've taken the story and twisted it into my version of it, and corrected the grammar a bit. I credit my inspiration to write this story to aria206.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Gaara and Matsuri would've gotten together.

Sakura stretched from her bed, feeling drowsy. She groped for her small black alarm clock by her bedside, squinting at the glowing, bright green numbers. It read 3:49 am. The girl could not believe she had woken up so early. It wasn't like there was school. It wasn't like her to wake up before seven.

Frowning, Sakura grabbed her cell phone and pressed the home button. The screen brightened, showing the clear numbers 10:35.

That was more like it. Blinking, she gasped and rushed out of bed, scrambling for her clothes and stuffing things into her red handbag. She hurried to the bathroom, splashed water on her face, drying it with a nearby towel.

Soon she was ready to go, in a red shirt outlined with white patterns and black shorts. She pulled on her black heels and swung her handbag onto her shoulder.

Ino was going to kill her.

Sakura was supposed to meet one of her best friends, Yamanaka Ino, at her house so they could go out with their other best friends at nine o'clock sharp. Now it was 10:50, and the pink haired girl was pedaling on her bike as fast as her legs would allow her.

…

"So, guys, I heard there's a new family moving in next to Tenten," Uzumaki Karin said conversationally as she twisted Matsuri's mousy hair into a bun on Ino's bed. "I'm not big on the details, but we'll ask her when she gets here. Where is she anyway? And Sakura?"

"I don't know, but if they don't show up in the next ten minutes I'm going to roast them and feed 'em to Chouji," Ino snarled. The girls were supposed to go to the sale/flea market downtown an hour ago. "Okay, one, Ino, you can't cook. Two, you wouldn't be able to catch Sakura or Tenten even if you tried. Three, why is it so important to go to the flea market anyway?" Matsuri sighed.

Hyuuga Hinata walked in with soft drinks, her long raven hair swaying. "B-because it's Ino we're talking about, the flea market has this 'glam girls' sale and she's going crazy a-about it," the timid girl said as she served the drinks.

Ino smiled widely at her. "I'm glad one of my friends knows me well."

What's taking them so long? Ino sighed. As if on cue, a panting brunette in the twinning buns rushed in, accompanied by an equally exerted pink haired girl. Sakura smiled awkwardly and spoke first, "Sorry, Ino, I had a last minute errand to run."

If Ino found out she had slept in, she was dead for sure. Tenten snorted, unaffected by Ino's death glare, "Yeah, and I had some neighbors to say hi to," she said dryly.

"Well, let's go," Karin said, interrupting the intense glaring competition. Hinata gratefully followed the redhead out the door, followed by Matsuri and Sakura. Tenten smirked and left the room as Ino threw her hands up in the air. "It's about time!"

…

Unsurprisingly, Ino was ogling over every single piece of clothing and jewelry that caught her eye.

"Hey Tenten," Matsuri nudged the girl beside her, "What are your new neighbors like?"

Tenten shrugged. "There're three kids. Two boys and a girl. She's older than us by three years or so I think. She's the oldest. The middle kid is older than us by a year or so, and the youngest is our age. Their dad is pretty intimidating, though. I do believe their mother passed away," the brunette finished her description.

Matsuri blinked. "Oh."

Before she could say more, Tenten became distracted as she spotted something. "Guys!" She called. "There's a really nice skateboard over there, I need to get it!"

She rushed over, the group trailing behind her. Before she reached it, though, a sandy blond girl wearing four strange pigtails grabbed it.

"Are you getting that?" Tenten asked. The girl looked at her. "I was planning to...why? Do you want it?"

As the girl finished her sentence, she glanced behind Tenten and noticed Matsuri, who was gaping like a fish out of water. "Temari Sabaku?" Matsuri grinned. "Matsuri!" The girl, Temari, cracked a smile back. "Is that you?"

"Guys, this is Temari. She was my best friend from Suna, where I used to live," Matsuri introduced her long lost friend. "Temari, this is Hinata, Karin, Ino, Sakura, and your skateboard rival, Tenten."

The said brunette smiled warmly at Temari. "You can have the skateboard," she said sheepishly. "Welcome to our gang!"

…

Hours later, the girls minus Temari had congregated once again in Ino's room. "She s-seems nice," Hinata said, breaking the silence. Everyone stared at Matsuri, waiting for answers. The mousy haired girl blinked. "What, do I have something on my face?"

"Spill. How'd you meet Temari, and why is she suddenly your bestie?" Sakura finally spoke.

Matsuri smiled, "Oh. Well, I was being bullied by a bunch of bitches. The pushed me down a hill and left me. I broke an arm and a leg that day, and earned this." She pointed at a large, spiraling scar down her right arm. "If Temari hadn't come to save me, I don't know what would've happened."

Sakura's mouth was open. The girls all knew the pinkette hated to see people injured and hurt. "I'm so sorry, 'Suri, I had to make you talk about that," she apologized profusely.

Karina tried to lighten the mood, "Well, I for one like this Temari. She'll fit in just fine."

Laughter filled the room, except for Hinata, who wore a worried look on her face, remembering what happened when Matsuri had joined the group. It had literally been dysfunctional.

"Don't be too hard on Tem," Matsuri smiled, "She has a temper and she can be like Ino when she's really pissed. She broke my door once," she winced.

This is going to be fun, Sakura smirked.

And this is why Hinata was so worried.