notes: I swear, I'm getting to write the next chapter of flad, but for now: have some NejiSaku feels afahogha.
"Hi, Neji-kun! I'm baaaack."
Sakura Haruno places a bouquet of flowers on the ground and smiles wistfully.
"Would you get mad if you ever realized that I do this, what, every night? Or maybe you already know because even up there, you can see everything; even up there, I can't hide anything from you.
"Do you want to know how everyone was today? It doesn't matter if you say no; I'll tell you anyway.
"Lee-san continued to smile today. It's starting to look like a real smile, like he's not just forcing himself into this mask that he thinks no one can see through. I don't think it means he's even slightly recovered, but it's a start on the road to recovery. And at one end, there always has to be another beginning.
"TenTen hasn't recovered either; but she tries to be strong and I am with her, every step of the way. She asks me to do target practice with her a lot and I help her out and train with her, because it helps me too. And because she is the only one who knew about us and that creates a special kind of connection between us.
"Gai-sensei comes here, every day. I know this because I see him leaving when I arrive here and we nod at each and share this look.
"Hinata-chan comes here, every day, as well. There is a firm look in her eyes now. Perhaps it's always been there, but now it's more pronounced, more at the forefront. She is the one who holds many of us together because she knows you died for something you believed in. But that doesn't mean she will ever get over it. You were her brother and she loved you, which you already know.
"Naruto finally proposed to her too! I think it's because he's recognized her steadiness and everything else that makes her Hinata.
"Sasuke hasn't returned. I still hope that he will. Because hope is eternal, isn't it? Just like my love for you.
"And how am I, you ask? Well, they all worry because, I think, TenTen has told them some of the story. Maybe not all of it; not the kisses in the dark, the whispers under the covers, the rapid beat of my—our hearts.
"But I think they know enough. They don't need to worry though and neither do you. I was a mess when it all first happened but life goes on.
"Just like hope. And just like my love for you."
She breathes out slowly, the chill in the air manifesting itself in a crystal outtake.
But standing next to the Memorial Stone, where his name is neatly carved, her heart has never felt so warm.