I'm Sorry I Never Knew
Disclaimer: I do have ownership over the series Naruto and its characters
Somewhere in the public park, a little boy by the age of seven was running aimlessly in search of his ball. "Where is it! I know it went this way! Argh! I'm so going to kill Akihiko for kicking the ball too high..", he muttered to himself.
All of a sudden, bright fuschia caught his eye and he grinned in relief. He was about to reach for the ball when he saw a young man, on a wooden bench, he looked like he was in his late 20s or so. He was staring, his face was blank. Emotionless, as he stared at the lake before him. It seemed to sparkle in the sunset, silver and gold clashing together.
The lad took a step closer in confusion but not too close for the man in the suit to notice. After a while, the boy finally spoke out, "Umm, mister?". The man finally snapped out of his trance and turned to look at the boy, his navy blue hair swaying in the wind. "Sorry, I didn't notice you there, kid." His voice was cool but somehow sounded a tad bit gloomy.
"N-no, I was just curious", the boy had no idea what to say.
"Curious?" The man lifted a fine brow. "About what?"
"Well, mister. Um. You were staring at the lake for quite a long time. My mommy said that if someone stares at something for a long time with the kind of face you made, it means that they're thinking of something important. She says that it means they're troubled."
Indeed, the man was troubled.
"Well, boy, it turns out that today they're going to bury a really dear friend of mine."
The boy was shocked.
"O-oh! Uhh, I'm sorry for your loss, mister"
The man gave an empty smirk.
"Thank you. And please stop with the 'mister'. It's Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."
Uzumaki Naruto was a happy man. He was what people described as "happy-go-lucky". Always happy. But today, as it rained and people surrounded a descending coffin, her coffin, he knew it'd be a long time 'till he'll be happy again.
He could hear Tsunade giving a speech in the background but all he could see was the grave stone that had her name. Damn! He was so pathetic! He could barely say her name without breaking down.
"She was what I considered my daughter, the bubbly little girl who held her own as she faced everyday problems and missions. She was the medic who helped many people. She was dedicated to her job. She always smiled whenever she could release a healthy patient, and always cried when she had to give up unwillingly.
She was a remarkable light in the lives of most of us." Tsunade had to stop and will herself to finish her speech.
"I remember how she would hit me in the head when I get drunk and would scold me to do my work. I remember how she used to hum this tune when she checked the supplies, how she would join me at the bars when I needed someone to talk to. Sakura – she was the best. I love you, Sakura. WE love you, I hope you rest in peace in that bright place where you must be."
It seemed to rain harder and people left one by one after praying. It seemed like ages he was staring at her name until Kakashi called to him with Sasuke not far behind. He stood up and took one more glance before leaving.
They were quiet. Extremely quiet as they sat in the living room. Her living room. Her will stated that she was going to donate whatever that could be donated of her things to charity. So they came to see if there was anything that they would like to keep that would remind them of her.
It was quite funny actually, they were walking together after the funeral and silently agreed to come here. Kakashi sat comfortably on the couch, just playing mindlessly with his fingers, he didn't bring his book with him today. Sakura would've been proud and exclaimed how she had to receive credit. He stopped. Sakura – he couldn't accept that she was gone.
He sighed as he watched Naruto on the kitchen stool, his right hand propping his head on the table, and Sasuke, eyes closed and hands in pockets, as he leaned on the wall. He streched his neck and stood, his legs felt a bit sore after not moving for about half an hour. "I'm going to her room, guys."
Both his ex-students looked up and followed as he walked through the hallway. In her beige room, there was a wooden desk with all her medical files stacked up neatly and colourful sticky notes everywhere. There was also a brown leather book. It wrote across it, 'Diary'. Sakura kept a diary? They didn't know that.
"Sakura-chan has – had a diary?", Naruto questioned more to himself. Kakashi touched the cover and lightly carressed the soft leather. There was no lock on it. His fingers travelled lightly across until it reached the end and carefully opened it. On the first page was a neatly written in bright pink ink, 'Sakura Haruno'.
He slowly turned the page.
The three men - Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi, finally discover the diary.
I hope I did write this in a way that made them seem full of grief and genuinely suprised to find the diary of their deceased friend.
Don't worry, more details regarding her death and others will be revealed later on!
TheNewSarcastic