Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Sakura watched as the rain beat out her window relentlessly. Her elbow was resting on the windowsill and her cheek lay on her palm. She drummed her fingers on the window sill impatiently and tapped her foot in an irritated way
"What is with this rain!" Sakura groaned. "It's been nothing but rain all week!" Sakura sighed thoughtfully, "I don't know why, but rain always makes me think of him…"
She was so tired of being cooped up in this "apartment", if that is what you would call it, 24/7. She looked around sneakily and pushed the window silently open. Instantly the smell of the rain, and the cold air it brought, greeted her. Everything about it became more real: The pasty feeling you get when the air of the rain hits you. The noise seemed more real now that there was no thin sheet of glass interrupting the vibrations.
She jumped out into the rain and lifted her head to the sky to feel the rain beat down on her face. She extended her arms and sighed. It felt so good for her to be outside again.
"Sakura? What are you doing out here!" Naruto said running towards Sakura with an umbrella in his hand. "You have to go back inside!"
"Naruto, don't make me go back in there..." Sakura said turning to Naruto. "I can't live the rest of my life stuck inside that room that tries to be like a regular apartment but fails! I'm a ninja, it's hard to go from a free life to being stuck in one room until I die.
"Sakura! Get back inside!" Kakashi said running to her as well. "You'll catch your death if you stay out here in this rain!"
Sakura chuckled, "Kakashi-sensei, you know I already have," Sakura smiled at her sensei, but he did not return it.
"I don't find that very funny Sakura. You know what I mean." Kakashi said crossing his arms and glaring at her. Sakura stood firm and glared back. Naruto looked back from one to the other, unsure who was going to win. She eventually turned her mouth down in a frown and said, "Fine." and then marched back inside.
"Put some dry clothes on too!" Kakashi yelled after her.
"Kakashi-sensei why do you always-" Naruto started
"I just want her to stick around as long as possible Naruto," Kakashi said placing his hand on Naruto's head. "I've already lost one of you..."
Naruto looked down at the ground dejectedly. "Not all stories can have a happy ending Kakashi-Sensei..."
"You can't stop yourself from hoping to have one though..." Kakashi said as he gently rustled Naruto's hair and walked silently away. Naruto sighed and walked away from the hospital that only filled him with sorrow. He wiped his sleeve over his eyes to remove the wetness not caused by rain.
"How many flowers, in my mother's garden, were ruined during my youth? I remember, I would always pull them out and pluck the petals out one-by-one thinking that it could determine how my love would be if I added pointless sentences to them.
"How many flowers did I destroy after you left? Every time it told me that you loved me I would expect you to come back almost immediately, fantasizing about ways you would say you loved. When it said you didn't love me I would cry for hours wishing there was a way to get you back. They were such stupid fantasies that only set me up for disaster. Why is it, we can get our hopes so high up easily, but we can never handle the pain when they come hurtling unexpectedly back to the ground?"
Sakura exhaled slowly, fogging up the window her large forehead was pressed against. She could fell the coolness of the outside rain seep through the window as if teasing her about how she couldn't leave. The touch of the cool window was wonderful on her feverish head. She took a few deep steadying breaths to prepare herself. The pain was coming, she could tell. She pressed her palms to her forehead as it began to explode in pain. It felt like her skull was shrinking, while at the same time, her brain was growing. She let out a scream of the utmost pain, it was a loud and shrill scream.
"Sakura!" Tsunade shouted in alarm when she entered the room to find Sakura curled up in a ball, unconscious, on the ground. Tsunade got her to her bed and started performing healing jutsus to ease the pain.
Naruto had just entered while Tsunade was leaving. She place her hand on Naruto's shoulder and said, "Her condition is much worse Naruto… I don't expect her to live through the night."
Naruto collapsed on a chair, his legs had lost all ability and strength that was needed to keep him standing. All happiness he had maintained through this was sucked out and being replaced with an unbearable pain creeping into his heart. It stung it felt strangely dry. "Sakura…" Naruto started his voice already breaking in pain. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to you." Naruto started to cry and took random uncontrollable intakes of breath occasionally. "I couldn't bring him back and now… I can't save you either. I made one promise to you and couldn't keep it! I don't know where I'll be without you though… I'm losing my best friend again and once again, I can't do anything!
"I'm being selfish too, I don't want to be left alone again. You and Sasuke, were my best friends. If I lost both of you… I don't know what'll happen or where I'll be. Please, Sakrua! Don't go!"
Naruto stayed by her side for an unknown amount of time. He could have been there for an eternity for all he knew. Eventually he stood up and trudged home, hands in his pockets, not ready to face another day.