Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, ever.
Naruto dies after an epic battle, and Sakura is plunged into the sea of guilt and regrets. But before he dies, Naruto makes a strange request to her, which she obligates. While befriending a baby fox that she found on the street, Sakura is suddenly faced with a dilemma of no hope...
Before his blood dried up….
Before his eyes closed for the final time, he made one secret request to her.
"Sakura-chan, come closer, won't you….?"
The grey clouds clashed and mounted together. They gnawed and gashed their teeth, pulling and tangling the wisps of their remaining whiteness. Finally, the first thunder erupted, roaring its pride out to the sky. Or perhaps, it was also feeling pain in its mere, short lived momentum called life. One by one, the gentle droplets of rain soon became sharp, piercing the surface of the weak soil and splattering dirt and water away carelessly.
It was everywhere, the rain. The trees swayed, carried away by the violent rhythm of the wind, its leaves rustling. The wind was much more vocal, howling and screaming with its angry, sharp bite.
Rage…
He was making that stupid, impish grin of comfort, but she only shot back to him in rage. Why was she so angry? Shouldn't she smile in front of the dying boy with a wish soon to be buried…? Time was never on anyone's side, and she cursed it. She was starting to panic, however, at the realization of the escaping seconds in his hands. Slowly, she placed her weak and almost broken hands on his punctured chest. It soon began to emit the warm, eerie green glow.
"Don't worry, Naruto…," she said to him quietly with a stern look, trying to grasp onto her remaining glimmer of hope. I'll save you…. I can…!
But she knew she couldn't, and so did he. He was breathing heavily, struggling between the boundaries of life and death.
"Sakura-chan…,"
"Shh, don't try to talk."
Rain, and then more….
"Sakura-chan… when I die, put my body into the Mt. Myobokuzan's oil fountain."
"…what?!"
"In three hours… okay? Tell Fukasaku…. Please….." he gasped, trying to grasp his last breath of air.
"There was…. Something else….," he tried to continue, but he started to cough again. Blood trickled down from his mouth and lips. More air, more time…. Why couldn't there be more of anything?
Slowly, very slowly, his dimming pool blue eyes began to close. A calm smile- he painted the fulfilled, satisfied smile of death and held her hand for the very last time. She could feel his hands growing cold and stiff.
"Naruto…?" she called his name.
No answer.
Tears flowed from her eyes to the edge of her bones of her face, creating streams and finally, a river.
Though, the rain was washing the river away….
When they found her, they were only a few seconds too late. She was bent down over to his chest, her face buried in her arms. They couldn't clearly depict how she looked, but saw only droplets of her tears falling down. The timid sun that played peek-a-boo made its way out of the clouds, parting the aura of heavy darkness. Pillar of lights came down on earth, slowly drying up the ground drenched in mixed blood.
Streams of tears flowed nonstop on Rock Lee's face, and Neji, who was beside him only turned away from the sight. The toads- Fukasaku, Gamabunta, and Gamakichi, were stunned. Kakashi and Yamato averted their eyes, trying to avoid the pain, and Ino held a sobbing Hinata tightly.
Reeling with guilt, she stayed quiet all the way home. However, she did quietly tell Fukasaku his last request. Without much talk, Fukasaku nodded and hauled the corpse away to Mt. Myobokuzan with the other toads in a flash and a smoke of clouds.
Was it my fault… it was? I could have saved him…
Guilt and then more guilt- there was plenty of that. She lost Naruto, and now only guilt was wooing her. Wrapped in rage and weariness, she slumped over to the ground while on her walk back home.
"Sakura….!"
That was the last thing she heard.
Avoiding all the missions, Haruno Sakura stayed home in her bed. She cried nonstop in silence, with her bedroom door locked so that no one could come in. She also had her curtains pulled over so that no one could see her. She stayed in her bed, only feeling the soft cotton sheets soaked in her tears.
Downstairs, her mother was talking to Ino.
"No, she can't- I mean, she won't," Sakura's mother said, her face in tinge between something bitter and sour.
"Oh, okay," Ino replied. "A month is going to pass by soon." A pause and a sigh. "I'll come by next time."
"Come back soon," and the sliding door was closed.
Sakura tried to hide under the blankets. She wanted to hide her face from the walls of her room. Her eyes were wide open, her fingers between her lips, tears still spilling.
There was a knock at her door.
"Sakura," her mother said. "Open up, please."
No answer. A sigh.
"If you are going to continue this…. I might have to break the door apart. Would you like that?"
Still, there was nothing.
"Sakura, please come out and say something… please?"
Her mother was going to turn back and go down the stairs. Before she took another step away from the door, there was a click, and the door squeaked open. She only let the door open a little, just so that her mother could see a small glimpse of her face. Her mother sighed scornfully. Staring at her pathetic, feeble looking daughter with swollen red eyes and tangled, unruly hair made her feel nothing but pain and misery.
"Sakura, dear, please open the door a little wider," she said. Sakura slowly stepped away from the door and her mother pushed it. Sakura sat on her bed with her head slumped so low, not caring about her mother's reactions.
"Sakura, your room… your bed… it's….!"
"Messy, I know," Sakura spoke. It was the first time since that incident. Her clean, energetic daughter was now in shambles. Finally, her mother broke out from her frustrated and worried exterior and sat next to her daughter.
"It's going to be alright, dear," her mother said as she gently rubbed her back in circular motion and held her close. "He's still with you, my girl."
Sakura slid away from her mother's warm embrace, morphing herself into a curled ball of contempt.
"Leave me alone now, please," she whispered. Her mother rose up, weary of everything. Her only daughter in pain gave her greater pain.
Before she went, she gave her daughter a few last words of thought.
"Believe it, dear. He's there," she said, and left.
The room was quiet again.
'Believe? Believe what, that he's still alive? Even he said that I should believe in him, and now this….'
She bit the corners of the sheet and pulled it. No tears were coming out anymore. But the sky… when she stared out the window, the grey sky, now dark was dropping tears.
In every smile, there was a thorn. Every inch of her lips trying to curve up, every time she tried to close her eyes to make two perfect rainbows, only the thought of his idiotic grin lingered and whispered in her ears. She reminisced the times when they were silly preteens: a boy with a dream too far and high to reach, and a girl who lived only by the name of kunoichi on the surface. She often called him an idiot. Now, renewing her thoughts and cleansing it over and over again, she thought that she was an idiot. Idiot… idiot? What made that idiot so special anyhow and not her? She was and idiot, but a different kind. He saved her, and it was too late for her to do anything else.
All she could whisper was the words of apology. But 'sorry' wasn't good enough. It was never good enough.
To cleanse her sins, she lifted herself from the bed and placed herself in front of the mirror for an evaluation. Her eyes were still puffy, and her hair was a thick pile of tangled grease. Hadn't he always admired how pretty she was? A small smile strangely rose on her face.
All I could do is useless and small things…
The grey sky still irritated her, but nevertheless, she still kept her small, awkward smile.
"That's right. What will he think of me if he sees me this way? He'll probably say something like, "Sakura, stop talking nonsense and get out!""
Yeah, if only he was there….
It was over. She decided to get out from her room. There was no use in crying or sulking. Another day was a day to start over. She hobbled over to her closet and slid the door open.
'That's it…?' With her puffy eyes wide open, she stared at the almost hollow, naked closet. There was nothing but only few sock pieces, undergarments, and a little black dress with long sleeves. She realized that all of her clothes were carelessly tossed in the laundry basket, waiting patiently for another review of thorough cleansing. She only wore warm, neutral colors- black was never an option. Today, however, it seemed like it was an obligation.
"How ironic," she muttered and gathered those clothes in her arms. She was ready to take a shower.
She must rinse it all away….
After a few days of staying silent and trying to recuperate, Sakura asked for chores. Her mother was bewildered.
"You, of all the people," her mother chuckled sadly. She began to write a list of goods on a small, pale pink tinted sheet and handed it to her. Without a word, she strolled out into the street, taking a red umbrella with her.
The sky was still the disturbing grey, never changing its mind of claiming another territory. Still, there was no rain. Was that a good sign, she wondered. No rain, no nothing….
At the market, she gathered apples, pears, and oranges. She checked off every item until she came to the very last one. On the very bottom of the list, it said, 'sweets.'
She gently smiled and bought three small cinnamon rolls.
Out of the store, and out of the blue, the disturbing sky that resided without any permission in the village clashed with other wisps of visible grey. Out came the rain of rage. She clenched on the handle of the red umbrella and perched it over to her head.
A sigh. "More rain…., isn't this already enough?" She stared at the sky.
Her home was a long way. The tiny road that she took was a twisted cobblestone path. On the sides, small frogs and other tiny creatures of the earth tried to escape the pouring rain by either jumping into a small pool of puddle or burrowing themselves in little nooks and holes. Flowers enjoyed rain as much as possible. She despised the flowers.
While walking around the largest curve that had a majestic oak tree swaying from the wind, she spotted something bright and round under the roots of the tree.
"It looks like a piece of gold," she said. She lifted it up. "Huh, it doesn't feel that heavy." It was rather soft and warm. Suddenly, the round object unfurled itself, showing its tiny tail with a white tip. Two points sprang up, and its face drew a pair of squints.
A baby fox.
"Aww, it's so cute!!!" Sakura squealed. She held it close to her chest. It had a nice sleek fur in color of bright gold. The baby fox began to blink, and she saw a glimpse of blue.
The fox again drew a pair of squints and yapped.
"You are really different from other foxes," she scratched its forehead with the tip of her index finger. "You remind me of someone special…" She smiled gently. The baby fox lifted its head and began to lick its white paw soaked in blood.
"You're hurt!" Patting it gently, she decided to take it home. "I'll take good care of you until you get better, okay?"
The baby fox began to emit a purr, and cuddled in her arms. She smiled.
"I like you…," she held the fox tightly in her arms. "You'll be Toru now, okay?"
The fox yapped twice. It was weak, but still cheerful.
The heavy rain didn't seem to be so burdensome anymore. Her footsteps were lighter than before. She was walking in power, kicking puddles in her path away in joy.
She was a little happier than before.
Though she didn't notice how the fox grinned too....
Hi, it's me again, writing another story. Oh, some people might wonder why the fox's name is Toru. Well, you might know if you're really good. ^^ I based this story on an old legend that most of you will never know. It didn't have a happy ending. Do you think this one will have one? No? Yes? Maybe? Heh, we'll see, but I'm kind of evil.