STOP AND READ THIS OR YOU WILL BE DISSAPPOINTED.
Lately I've been reading through all of my favourite Sakura stories. These are stories I've been favouriting since I was about 14-15. But the thing is, they all have one thing in common.
Sakura acts like a bi-polar emo bitch. If she's not Freaking out in under a second and trying to punch someone in the face, she hates all of the guys that are after her romantically.
In short, it's all very juvenile, no matter what age she is at. It's also all very unrealistic.
I seek to change this.
In this story, Sakura is about 20. She has grown, changed and matured over her life. She also a hell of a lot more laid-back, a personality change I see in a lot of the older shinobi in the series. Look at Kakashi, Asuma, Genma, Kurenai and the list goes on. They are all so relaxed; you never see any of them packing a bitch-fit.
The life a shinobi lives is hard, they fight and kill people for a living, constantly living with the fact that they could die at any minute hanging over their heads. Not only would they mature really quickly, but they'd also learn the lesson that life is too short to worry over the trivial things I see a lot of characters in Fanfiction worrying over. So yes, Sakura is different, she's not in character because in the canon universe she's 15 or something. You are not the same person at 20 as you were when you were 15.
If you're looking for a kawaii gushy-gushy romance, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. This is a mature, intellectual story for the more grown-up readers of fanfiction.
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Okayu: is the name for the type of congee eaten in Japan. Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. To prepare the dish, rice is boiled in large amounts of water until it softens significantly. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; in others it is eaten as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered particularly suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.
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Okayu.
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It was with an exhausted haunch to her shoulders that Sakura walked down the never-ending hospital hallway. With a deep sigh and a yawn she jammed the heel of her palm into her eye, giving it a rough rub as she tried to stimulate herself into a more aware frame of mind, though it truly did nothing except cause blinding spots to pop up in her vision. With a crass yawn her hand sought the door beside her, pushing it open as she slipped out of the brazenly lit hallway and into a much darker, naturally lit locker room. Her sigh this time tempered with an edge of sleepy pleasure as her pupils dilated in the softy illuminated room.
It had been a long day, just like any other day. Her once white scrubs that identified her as a medical trained shinobi had been marred with blood, the blood of her injured patients. She came to a stop at her locker, her tired fingers groping at the handle as she popped it open. Her other hand tugged her at her stained scrub, yanking it up and over her head before tossing it off and over to the side. Without even a glance the red tarnished material flew through the air before it rumpled into a ball at the bottom of the clothing trolley. Sakura gave a soft 'heh,' the corner of her mouth tugging up at her accomplishment.
'Still got it.' She thought, a cocky gun-shooting hand action supplied along with it. She gave a short tug at her equally stained pants, tugging them down to mid-thigh before a shimmy of her hips and an awkward leg dance took care of the rest of the disrobing, her hands and eyes focused on the innards of her locker. As she withdrew a small plastic pottle her body turned, her foot coming up to close the locker door before swooping down in the same movement to hook her toes in the hem of her pants and fling them into the clothing trolley to join her shirt.
Her panty clad arse met the surface of the wood bench with no sense of bravado like her earlier shooting with the shirt had produced, her mind focused solely on the pottle and spoon in hand instead. With a snap she plucked the plastic lid off to reveal her much awaited dinner, a chilled, gooey mess of okayu. She gave the viscous food a swirl, a few beans popping up within the swirl of coagulated rice porridge. She scooped up the chilled okayu, jamming it into her mouth as her eyes closed, her mouth brazenly left open in the quiet solitude of the locker room as she let all social conformities go, as one does when by themselves.
'How am I the only one to like cold, old okayu?' Her sloppy chewing was the background noise for her internal monologue over her small meal, years spent nursing the elderly and the young on the rice dish had given her a taste for the gruel. Her affection for it was like the one Naruto had for Ramen. The blonde haired Hokage-to-be popped up in her thoughts just as she jammed another mouthful of okayu into her mouth, she couldn't help but feel her lips stretch into a smile around the captured, up-turned spoon.
Her legs kicked up, the tops of her thighs pressing to her white, strawberry speckled bra, her heels rasping along the surface of the wood bench as she shifted positions. Another chomp and a bean burst in her mouth.
"Sakura-chaaaan!" Came the happy chirp as a bushel of blonde popped around the corner of the very door she had slunk through previously, Naruto's trademark grin bunching his whiskered cheeks. 'Speak of the devil' Sakura thought, her shoulders dropping along with her eyelids as she cut Naruto a dry look.
"The nurse said you'd be back here!" He finished, entering into the room completely, the door closing behind him with a click. With long strides he quickly made his way over to her, even so late at night his blue eyes were bright like the afternoon sky.
"Naruto, what have I told you about being back here? This is for hospital staff only." She drawled, a hint of displeasure colouring her voice. Another spoonful of okayu found its way into her mouth, though her eyes never left her friend's ever approaching form.
"Eh? But, Sakuraaaa!" He whined, his arms coming to swing around the front of her neck loosely as he stood behind her, his forearms resting on her shoulders as his chin sat atop her head. The lack of a suffix attached to the end of her name along with the relaxed position they both held as his larger figure swamped hers was a telling sign of just how close the two were.
"I don't know how you like that stuff, it's so bland." He huffed, his lips slipping into an insolent pout as he looked down at her meal, yet he happily opened his mouth as she offered a spoon of the rice gruel up to him. He was Sakura's waste disposal unit, after all. She gave a giggle as he munched away happy.
They sat like that for several minutes, no communication, simply enjoying each other presences like they had learnt to do over many years. With age had came the understanding that in their line of work, friendship did not always last forever. One day someone could be there and the next they may not. They had learnt through their teachers and their friends that simply enjoying the closeness of another shinobi was enough, words were unneeded most of the time. Some of Sakura's most cherished memories had come from quick moments huddled up under a branch in the middle of the night when it was pouring with rain. No words, just looks.
Unlike civilians, shinobi needed no words to express themselves. It was how they were trained. Blown covers cost lives.
It was with a jaw shattering yawn that their amicable silence was destroyed as Naruto couldn't help but burst with a bellowing laugh as he watched his pretty little Sakura's face contort with exhaustion. He was rewarded with a sleepy nudge of his ribs with her elbow, a true testament to how sleepy she really was. Normally he wouldn't have gotten away with anything short of a bruise.
"Shut it, Naruto" She huffed, scraping the last remains of her okayu from her take-away container and shovelling it into her mouth.
"Sorry, Sakura-chan." He chuckled, giving a rouge scratch to the back of his neck in repentance.
"Come on you need to get changed and then I'll walk you home." His tone turned soft as he stumbled upon the idea that maybe his normally bright and loud persona would be giving her an awful headache. His hands slipped from their languid position floating above her collar bone to under her arms, slowly heaving her up with an exaggerated grunt that earned him a stone cold glare. Sakura complied to his movements, her bunched up legs unfolding as she opened her locker once more.
She jammed her used container away in her bag before she began to thumb through it in looks for a shirt, her free hand sliding down to her arse to tug her peach coloured hipster out of her crack, giving the elastic a subtle snap. Modesty was not a luxury shinobi could afford, a lesson Sakura had learnt courtesy of the Jounin exams three years ago. Though she was surprised she hadn't learnt it sooner. If an enemy could defeat you by ripping off your shirt, you'd be as good as dead. Once again, Sakura was surprised that she had the luck to not run across a slimy and vile villain that would have done a move such as that. She would have cried out in embarrassment and had her throat slit in the same moment if that had happened back when she was 15.
But like most shinobi, Sakura had learnt and had adapted to be comfortable with her body, for it was simply that, a body. It was a series of nerves, veins, muscles, tendons, bones, organs and electrical impulses that she used to kill people with. There was no shame. Naruto had seen her with less clothing on before when situations in missions had called for it and he had not blinked an eye. It was a testament to how he had matured in the years, much like her.
She couldn't help but give an amused snort as she pulled a navy shirt over her head, her ponytail catching for a short moment as she wrestled with the head hold, Naruto eventually coming to her rescue with his cheeky chuckle; like always. She threw him an amused look over her shoulder as her head finally made it through.
"You're so hopeless when you're sleepy, Sakura-chan." He intoned jokingly once more, attempting to keep his voice down. He stepped over the bench that separated them as he took over finding her a pair of shorts, his ANBU gear pulling taut as he shifted silently.
Her green eyes turned soft as she viewed his gear, smudges of grass and dirt letting her know he had obvious just finished sparring. She knew he had no missions, a perk of being the apprentice of the Hokage. Him obtaining his ANBU status was a bump in the road of their shared lives. It had been a necessary step he had to take if he was to one day become Hokage. A Hokage had to go through every position within the Konoha shinobi ranks to be able to qualify for the esteemed position. It had been a step Naruto had been reluctant to take, not because he would have been given far more difficult mission, but because Sakura would no longer have been his teammate.
Once Sakura had reached jounin status, and then subsequently special jounin status, she had been quite happy to stop ascending through the ranks. She had no need or drive to become ANBU, though she knew she would have qualified to be moved into the elite ranks if she so wished.
'I remember the times when it was my goal. To become ANBU, to be the best of the best, to show Sasuke that I wasn't weak anymore.' She thought emotionlessly, no real feelings being produced from her line of thought. 'But I grew up. I matured. I don't need status; I don't need to prove myself to anyone. I needed to be happy with myself, and I finally am.' A smile caught her lips as she finished her thoughts, Naruto turning around to shoot her another blinding smile as he held up a pair of black, cotton shorts.
He knelt down at her feet, his ANBU gear bunching as he held the hem open for her to slip her feet through. Leaning forwards she grasped onto his shoulder, steadying herself as she slipped one foot at a time into her short, letting Naruto pull them up to her hips. His face popped up into hers with a chuckle and an infectious smile, Sakura easily responded the same, even though her mind was shattered with exhaustion.
'As is Naruto.' He hadn't been, at first. The idea of leaving Sakura behind was simply a step he did not think himself ready to take. He had clung to her all through his teenage years, least she go the way of Sasuke. He had thought the only ties they had keeping them together was that of teammates, he had planned his life with her in mind, she was always there at his side. They made jounin together and they would make ANBU together and when he became Hokage she would be his advisor. He had planned it all, they would always be tied together by being in the same team.
It had taken days upon weeks to get him to be comfortable enough with the idea of them not being teammates anymore. Sakura could remember how much her jaw would ache from the length at which she talked to him, to reassure him of the fact that she would always be there, she would always be at his side. They were true friend, bound by the soul, not by their team.
And even after all of it, even after he had sat the exam and passed with flying colours it had not ended. He acted as if it was fine, as if he was ready and willing to take this next step, but for him it only seemed that the next step was off of a cliff.
It had compounded the night he had been given his new team.
He had crashed through her plane glass window, his chakra broiling across his skin as he heaved and convulsed on her bedroom floor, emptying the contents of his stomach onto her carpet. It had been a panic attack the likes Sakura had never seen before. She had spent the entire night holding his sobbing form like she was nursing a sick lamb. He had cried like a little lost boy, and it was then Sakura could truly see the extent of every hardship he had faced in his life, the damage it had done to his overwhelming soul. He had hidden it all so well.
It had taken a three long months of recovery, Tsunade suspending mission after mission, keeping his emotional vulnerability under wraps, least he be removed from active service. It had takenSakura, Kakashi and the help of war worn Ibiki and Anko, both trained in Shinobi Mental Health, to fight through his problems.
It had been a full year until he was truly happy again.
He had finally proven himself as a shinobi, he was able to overcome all of his past trials and adversaries to move on with his life. And it was then, with opened and reborn eyes he could view Sakura and his relationship with her in a light he had never seen before. There was need to have her in his life before, no driving instinct that if she was not their everything would turn to ruin, no, he wanted her there. And that was so much more.
"Found 'em!" He cheered, forgetting his silent promise to himself to keep quiet as he waved the geta in the air. Sakura gave a short start as she was rocked out of her thoughts, her mind wandering off into the abyssal depths of her mind as exhaustion consumed her consciousness. Naruto quickly slipped the geta onto her feet before yanking the bag out of her locker and swinging it up over his shoulder, his smile stretching wider as he looped his arm around Sakura's shoulders, tugging her in under his arm.
"Let's get you home, Sakura! And then you can make me some ramen!" He finished with a rude waggle of his brows, causing Sakura to reach up and shove at his face with a playful scowl. He simply laughed, opening the door to the locker room as the light flooded in, consuming them whole as they walked out.
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Okayu fixation is one I will always make Sakura have when I write about her from now on.
This story may continue on. I have some more thoughts that I had originally planned to slide into this chapter that simply didn't fit, like a talk between Tsunade and Sakura.
I hate how short this is, it's one of my shortest stories.
Read and Review
feedback is welcomed and encouraging to me as a writer.
What takes you ten seconds to types last me for a life time.
There is no need to comment on grammar, I know it's terrible.