Origami
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Surrounded in trees sat a girl with pink shoulder length hair and sparkling emerald eyes as she stared a baby blue square piece of paper. Humming a little tune as she began to fold the small paper. But she suddenly stopped humming and folding to look up.
"Hey Sai want to sit, you can get a better look." She patted the ground next to her as she started to hum again. But he didn't sit he leaned against the tree she was sitting underneath.
"Hey hag what are you making?" She giggled at the nickname not really wanting to mess the peaceful atmosphere she let it slide.
"You mean to tell me you never once seen someone fold origami?" She kept folding as she glanced at him only to see him looking at the delicate piece of paper.
"Well obviously hag or I would not have bothered to ask."
"Well since you asked I might as well explain." She stopped her folding as she took a breath of air.
"Origami is the art of folding paper. Right now am folding a crane but you can fold other things like flowers, animals, and even people. But they say if you fold a thousand cranes and make a wish with the last one then the gods will grant it." There was silence for moment but then Sai spoke.
"Do you have a wish? Is that the reason why your making a crane?" Her brows bunched up as her eyes darkened.
"I don't think that even if I had a wish and did make a thousand cranes I don't think it would matter."
"Why?"
"You'll see but enough I have some more paper I can teach you to make a crane."
"But I don't have a wish."
"Heh heh you don't need one you can just do it for fun like I am."
"Okay hag." He sat down next to her as she handed him a purple square of paper.
"Okay listen well Sai and it's okay if it's turns out weird."
"Hag are you going to teach me or are you going to keep talking?"
"So impatient. Just follow my lead." The few minutes Sai following it well enough but I guess it wasn't enough because the crane was so crumpled and ripped but it still you tell it was a crane. Sakura looked at it and tried not to laugh but failed.
"Ha ha ha ha tha-that thing looked like i-i-it ha ha ha ha got caught trying to take Kakashi's perverted book or ha ha ha ha ha try-try-trying to steal Tsunade's sake!" He looked at it and suddenly he felt something warm spread through his body it felt unfamiliar to him so when it came out Sakura almost fainted.
"Ha ha ha ha ha y-your-you're right S-s-s-shaha-kura." She stopped and listen to him laugh it was so soft it was weird but he was laughing she couldn't help but smile like a goof ball or could she help the next thing she did.
"Wahh!" Sai fell backwards completely taken back as he felt the extra weight on him.
"You laughed! Sai you laughed an-and smiled a true smile! Y-you expressed yourself!" He squeezed him tighter as she felt happiness like any other. Sai just laid there staring at the unusually bright blue skies and fluffy clouds. He smiled big as he snaked his arms around Sakura's shoulders.
"Thank you......S-Sakura."
Her eyes widened but suddenly darkened with sadness.
"For what?"
"You made me understand happiness and taught me how to smile, a true smile." He said still looking at the sky and still holding on to Sakura. She shook her head.
"Nah that was all you I just lend you my hand to find your way out of the darkness everything was you, you Sai."
"I guess you're right but still thank you."
"Your welcome." She slowly got up from on top of him. "It's time I go." Her hair was covering most of her face so he couldn't see.
He sat up feeling weird almost empty even though he wasn't hungry, he just felt alone.
"Sai keep practicing and you'll get better same with learning to express yourself, like today." He reached out to her and ask what this feeling was but then a message hawk flew above them as they looked at it past by.
"That looked like it was Suna. Hey I'll meet you at the Hokage tower, okay." An before he could say anything she was gone.
Hokage Tower
He ran to the tower an so it didn't take long. He walked the steps walking down the hall to Tsunade's office door. As he opened it he saw Yamato, Kakashi, Naruto, and Shizune were already there. As he looked like they didn't know what was going and as he looked at the Hokage she looked rather grim. But as she looked up the look in her eyes gave him an uneasy.
"Good you're all here as expected it saves me time since I don't have to call ninja here just so they could go and look for you then for you guys to come back here it takes forever but since you all saw the hawk I guess could've waited. Um...Shi-Shizune sake."
Shizune looked at her with a pleading look but followed orders when Tsunade gave her a look.
"Here." She didn't grab for the cup but rather the whole bottle taking a swig. There was nothing but the sound of her gulping the alcohol. She slammed down the bottle and clenched her fist.
"She'sgone." Tsunade spoke so low and soft that for a second he thought it was just the wind but then Kakashi spoke.
"What did you say?" He voice slightly cracked when as he spoke.
"I-I dammit. I said sh-she's gone." There was silence for a second. But then Kakashi backed up into the sofa with a hand covering his face. He looked over to Yamato on his left as he took a sit in he was standing next to. The words kept echoing in his ears.
'I said sh-she's gone. I said she's gone. She's gone. She's gone. Sakura is gone. Gone, gone as-as-as-a-as in dead?' He whipped he head back at Tsunade her hands shielded her face but it was obvious she was crying then he heard a thud. He turned to his right on the ground Naruto sat. He eyes were so widen in shock and sadness as streams of tears slid down his cheeks and onto the ground never to be seen again. His hands literally dug into the ground as he squeezed his eyes shut while trying to desperately escape this reality. Then suddenly he too felt the tears slid down his cheek as his whole body to slightly shake, he clenched his hands forgetting that his paper crane was still in his hand until he heard a crumpling sound.
He opened it and stared at it suddenly it was unbearable to look at the crumpled piece of paper it was so still, cold, lifeless just like her. He turned on his heel and ran out from the suffocating room. He ran down the stairs reaching outside where it was once a beautiful day with bright blue skies and big fluffy white clouds and with her smile and laugh making things seem like everything was going to be okay. He bit back a sob as he raced through the streets pushing aside anyone who got in his way, ignoring the smart remarks as he made his way back to that place he saw her folding the crane.
When he arrived in the spot tears were still flowing as he steadily made his was to the tree but when he did they was only a small baby blue crane sitting waiting for him. He picked it up, he cradled it in his hand as he looked into the darkened sky. His brows scrunched up together as tears followed he carefully squeezed the crane as he brought it to his heart as he fell to the ground. He silently sobbed as he tried to remember her warm touch against his skin, the warmth from her body as she laid on top of him, their last moments together as she taught him origami. He thought back to his question.
"Do you have a wish? Is that the reason why your making a crane?" Her brows bunched up as her eyes darkened.
"I don't think that even if I had a wish and did make a thousand cranes I don't think it would matter."
"Why?"
"You'll see but enough I have some more paper I can teach you to make a crane."
"But I don't have a wish."
He looked back to the sky as rain began to fall blending with his tears.
"Sakura I lied I do have a wish now I wish I could hold you for one more time under the sun like today and this time I'll never let you go."
He looked back into his hands and lightly kissed the crane. Only nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine to go.
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