She fell asleep under a hilltop tree on that sunny day with that hat over her face. I remember walking up to her to ask for directions. She tilted the hat up to see me as we spoke. And with only one look at her face, I knew this was the girl I would marry.
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March 28th
Happy Birthday to Sakura Haruno!
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I got lost on my way walking to Naruto's house. It wasn't my first time visiting Konoha, but I haven't been here long enough to know my directions. I lived in Sound; been there ever since I was born. And now that I look around, I noticed how peaceful it was here compared to Sound. There were hills of green grass, trees and the occasional patch of wildflowers blooming in the spring. In Sound, buildings were as tall as the eyes could see. The honking of cars where made by late workers on the streets, and the smell of pollution was heavy.
I breathed in a breath of fresh air.
Winter had passed just a few weeks ago, but the snow was already gone by mid-February. It felt good to get out of the cold. Spring was here. The suns warmth felt good against my skin as I breathed in another breath of air and closed my eyes.
I was probably going to be late meeting Naruto at the regular spot inside the ramen bar, but it was partly his fault I was lost. There wasn't any sign of human life where I stood, so I knew I was far from Konoha.
The sound of a bird's chirping caught my attention as my head looked up, my eyes following the white seagull flying through the cloudless blue sky. And that's when I saw it. A tree growing, lone ontop of a hill. No other trees grew in that area, making that one tree look special, claiming almost half of an acre of land to itself.
I jogged up the hill, my head still looking up, following the seagull that flew far from my reach. I stopped chasing after it when I reached the top of the hill, watching as it grew smaller and smaller into the sky. And then, when I turned around to face the tree, I saw her.
- x -
She was sitting down, wearing a light yellow and white summer dress. Her upper half rested against the tree. A pair of white lace up cork sandals were thrown to the side, her legs were stretched out across the grass. Her small hands lay loosely clasped on her lap. And that yellow sun hat she wore covered her sleeping face.
I crouched down to her level, leaning in a bit closer. And just as my hand reaches out to remove the hat from her face, she wakes up.
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Brighter Than Sunshine
An early birthday present dedicated to Haruno Sakura.
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The moment she woke, I jumped back. She was a slow waker, I thought as silently watched her. She let out the smallest yawn as her hand went up under the sun hat to rub her eyes awake.
"You'll ruin your eyes like that." I say, catching her attention.
She doesn't jump from the sound of my voice like I expected her to. Instead, her hands slowly reach the rim of the yellow sun hat, tilting it up. She has beautiful green eyes.
And at that very moment, when her eyes met mine for the first time, I knew this was the girl I would marry.
-x-
Her voice was soft as she explained the directions to me. But I found myself zoning out, focusing on how her face changed with every word she spoke. When she was finished, her eyes met mine again, and I felt another spark between us. I wonder if she could feel it too. She stands up from her spot, and then I notice that she's a head shorter then me. And then I notice how close she was. I managed to suppress my blush, but I could still feel the heat on my cheeks as I took in the smell of her hair.
Her hand reaches to the back of her head, readjusting her hat. And then she walks over to the side and picks up her lace up shoes.
I thank her for the directions before leaving.
She gives a small wave with her hand that wasn't carrying her sandals. She stood under the hilltop tree, watching my back as I slowly walk out of sight.
-x-
I arrived at the ramen bar after 30 minutes of walking, following the girls direction. I didn't manage to get her name, but I could still remember her face, her eyes, and that yellow sun hat she wore. My elbows were propped ontop of the small brown table, letting my head rest ontop of my hand as I absentmindedly listened to Naruto's aimless chatter.
I hear him asking me if I could pick up a bouquet of flowers for him tomorrow by the flowershop just down the street. I nod in reply, not having anything better to do.
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I walked down the somewhat busy streets of Konoha, buzzing out the sound of happy citizens as I put my hands in the pockets of my dark washed jeans. Pulling out the crumpled white paper, I read the address of the shop in my head, scanning around for a match on the street I was told to walk down. I stopped infront of a small building. There was a pale yellow sign that read Yamanaka Flower shop. I check the sheet of paper once more, before walking in.
As soon as I push the door open, a little bell rings at my arrival. I pause and look around, taking a whiff of the heavily flower scented air. I hear a chirpy welcome as I near the counter. "I'm um... here to pick up requested flowers for my friend." I say to the blond. Her eyes light up as she presses her hands together in happiness. "Oh! You must be Naruto's friend! I'm excited! I hear he's planning on proposing to Hinata!"
I shrug, not really knowing this Hinata person. Ino, as she said her name was, told me to follow her outside. She had explained to me that Naruto had requested freshly cut flowers from the garden. We went through the back door, going outside into the large garden. I take one step into the backyard, and then I see that yellow sun hat.
-x-
She let out a small gasp when she sees me again. In her hand she held a bundle of freshly cut roses. She was wearing another summer dress, this time in pink and white, with those same white lace up cork sandals. She looks into my eyes, as I do hers, and we were both caught into a moment, our eyes meeting again for the third time.
"Sakura, you got them already?" Ino asks, breaking our contact.
She nods and carefully hands the roses over to the blond. Ino coaxes me to follow her back into the shop so she could prepare the bouquet and I reluctantly follow. Her name was Sakura. I tell myself. As I walked behind the storekeeper, I can't help but steal another glance at the pink haired girl. Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke and Sakura...
That sounded nice.
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Naruto had told me his plan on proposing, and I gave him an encouraging pat on the back before he went to meet with Hinata that afternoon. I looked at my watch, 1:23pm, it read.
I decided to go back to the spot where I first met her. It seemed peaceful, a nice place to just drown yourself in your thoughts. I walked farther and farther away from Konoha, and within 20 minutes, I could see that single tree that grew on the hill top. A big gust of wind blew from the south, so big I had to stand my ground. And just when I was about to start walking up the hill, I noticed something was flying in the air.
A yellow sun hat.
I hear a voice calling after it from the top of the hill. And when I look up, I see a pink haired girl, wearing a sun dress. It's her again.
Sakura.
She was running desperately after the hat down the hill, her arms reaching out. I don't think she noticed me staring at her from the bottom of the hill. Her eyes were glued onto her hat, slowly flying away into the air because of the wind. My thoughts were correct. She didn't see me there. She made a jump for the hat, and crashed straight into me.
- x -
Her face was buried into my shirt as I landed on the lush green grass. I try to wiggle out of the awkward position we were in, but when she didn't move, I thought she was hurt. I lower my head a bit, and using my hand I tilt her head up, checking if she was alright.
Her cheeks were flushed a lovely pink, nervous green eyes staring straight at me. And then I felt her leaning down, her face nearing mine. And for a second, I thought she was going to kiss me.
But she merely reaches over my head, grabbing the yellow sun hat that had landed on the ground. She puts the hat back on her head. And then another moment was created between us. Both lying on the green grass, with no one to capture this scene. And then I noticed that my hands were already on her waist, and that her hands were on my chest.
In the same way her eyes had first met mine, she tilts her sun hat up. And then I see her face again, I see her green eyes. And at that moment, I saw something new.
Her smile.
- x -
It was brighter than sunshine.
-x-
(A.N) The end! : D How'd you guys like this one-shot? It's a new style I'm experimenting with. This was more of a calm story, with no witty comments and stuff that most readers like, but I hope you guys like the story anyways... I'm not really confident with this story, since it's a really different style then my usual writing (that and it was my first time only writing in Sasuke's point of view) It was AU, and yes, Sasuke was OOC. But I thought it'd be best to have his personality like this. I hope you enjoyed this story!
Leave a review if you'd like!
Happy birthday to Sakura Haruno! xoxo