"We're almost there."
A small pink haired girl glanced over to her mother and saw that she was looking out the window. The little girl thought that she'd do this as well. She looked out the window and saw them drive over a bridge. Below there was a river. A very pretty one at that. "Where are we going again mommy?" She then asked as she sat back down.
"We're going to the Whirlpool Country." Her mother answered. The small pinkette sat up a little more and saw that there were many old fashion buildings ahead. "It's such a fascinating place…" Her mother then said; still looking out the window.
"It looks really old…." The little girl muttered as she slouched again. It did look old. The buildings looked VERY old and some of the people even looked old.
Her mother sighed and looked over to her daughter. "Sakura…it's a GOOD old." She told her. "It means it's historical." Sakura eyed her with a pouting look then closed her eyes. "Alright…whatever….you sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there." Her mother then said as she faced back forward.
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"Get Up Sakura! We're here!"
Sakura slowly opened her eyes and saw that her mother was trying to wake her up. There was a building outside of the door and just like the rest of the buildings…..it looked old. "Is this where we're staying?" She asked as she jumped out of the car. Her mother nodded and shut the door after her.
The door opened and a woman appeared right after her father knocked. Her smile was large as she looked over her shoulder to shout. "The Haruno's are here!" She yelled into the home. She then turned around and said welcome, before letting them in.
They talked for a long time, and It kind of annoyed the little girl. They talked about the whirlpool in town square and a bunch of other things. Sakura looked over her shoulder and glared at the woman talking with her mother. Apparently they were friends in high school.
"The whirlpool sounds beautiful….I'd love to go see it."
"You can If you want but it's dangerous."
"How so?"
"If you fall in, you could get sucked under and drown."
"Oh my…..has anyone fallen in?"
"Not yet…..but we're all crossing our fingers and hoping no one does."
Sakura laughed. That wasn't possible. Crossing your fingers and hoping something wont happen doesn't mean it wont happen. She stood up and walked into the living room to get her mothers attention. "Mommy…are we going to walk around or anything?" She asked as she pulled on her mother's dress. Mrs. Haruno looked down and smiled at her daughter.
"Yes dear." She said. "We were just about to leave for towns square." She looked at her friend after a pat on Sakura's head. "That's where most of the shops and landmarks are right." Her mother then asked her friend.
"Yes it is." Her friend answered. "There are restaurants and a museum too." Then she set her hand down from playing with her long brown bangs. "And the whirlpool is in the middle."
"What is this place?" Sakura asked. "Some kind of tourist attraction?" She then said as she looked at her mother. She was right. There were restaurants and a museum. What was that all about?
"No it's not" Her mother answered after a slight laugh. "It's just a really old place. And they aren't ALL restaurants. Plus I think the whirlpool is a little dangerous for tourist." She and her friend both laughed a bit.
"How old is she?" Her friend asked after finishing her little giggle. "She's so cute." She then said.
"She's 6 years old and she'll be 7 in March." Her mother answered. She patted the 6 year old on the head. "Oh…By the way…how to you protect children when they go to town square? Surly the small kids are a little curious about the whirlpool right?"
Her friend nodded with a smile. "Yes that's true but the whirlpool citizens here are all aware of how dangerous it is." She answered. Apparently she wasn't an official citizen. "This part of whirlpool may I add is Uzumaki territory. So that's why I say the Uzumaki make sure that their children know the rules of the whirlpool in town square."
Mrs. Haruno nodded. From what Sakura found out was that her friend here moved to the Whirlpool with her husband a long time ago and have been living among the Uzumaki clan since. Was her husband an Uzumaki? "Alright, let's go. Tell your husband I said hello." Mrs. Haruno said as she stood up. Her friend nodded and they were all out the door to look around.
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They soon arrived to town square. There weren't many people but still a lot. As they walked, Sakura could see the whirlpool in the middle. It had a special blue kind of glow to it. It was really pretty. People were standing at its edge and seemed to be praying, before walking away with their children. Then she spotted an ice cream shop.
"Mom!" She yelled as she pulled on her mother's arm. "Mom! Ice cream! Can I have some please! Please! Please!" She kept yelling and pointing to the ice cream shop until finally her mother stopped. She asked her husband for something and he gave her some money. Then she turned around and knelt down.
"Alright, here you go." Her mother said as she handed her the money. "But don't go too close to the whirlpool, I don't want you falling in." She then said. Sakura nodded and took the money.
"Thank you mommy" The pink haired girl then said before running off. She ran over to the shop; going around the whirlpool first, and go in line. It was long but she could wait. She looked forward and saw a few people at the front getting their ice cream and then behind them there was a blonde boy, behind him there….well was a lot more people. She sighed…..
*
The blonde boy waited for his turn in patience. But he couldn't help but look around. His blue eyes drifted to the end of the line and he spotted a head of pink hair. She was very far in the back and to him….was very pretty. His whiskered cheeks turned pink as he looked back forward. 'It might be a long time until she finally gets up here…' He then thought.
"Next"
The blonde looked up and saw the ice cream man smiling down at him. "Oh…sorry…" He walked over and pointed to a flavor. "Chocolate please." He said to the man.
"How many?"
The man asked this as he got his spoon out. Then the blonde thought about the pink haired girl at the back of the line. "Um…2 please." He said to him. The man nodded and got 2 cones out. Then when he was finished, the blonde boy gave him the money and he gave him the 2 ice cream cones. Turning around with a blush on his face, the blonde made his way over to the girl.
* * * *
"Here…."
Sakura looked to her left and saw a blonde boy holding out a chocolate ice cream to her. He had spiky hair and his eyes were a really pretty blue. He had birthmarks on his cheeks that looked like whiskers too and he seemed to be blushing. "Thank you…." She said as she took the ice cream. He nodded and started walking away. "You know…" The pink haired girl then said as she felt herself following him. "You didn't have to get me one."
"Yea I know…" He said to her. "I ju-just thought I should since you were at the end of the line and I was like…..at the beginning…" He slightly giggled and then stopped. His face was as red as the woman's hair by the stand behind him.
"My name's Sakura Haruno by the way…" Sakura said with her hand out "And I'm 6 years old" The boy's eyes widened slightly. Apparently he's never seen a person from a different clan before. Poor boy…he must be stuck in here until he's old enough to leave and explore.
"N-Naruto…" He said as he held out his hand and shook hers with a blushing face "And I'm…6 too." He was probably too nervous to say his last name, but she figured it was Uzumaki just like the rest of the clan. "I-It's nice to meet you." He then said.
"Naruto! Where are you?!"
The blonde opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to look at the woman with the long red hair. "Coming Mommy!" Naruto then yelled. Sakura saw the woman look over and smile before waving. Then she walked over while the blonde looked at the pink haired girl again. "Maybe I'll see you again." He said with a slight giggle. "Will you still be here tomorrow?"
"Yep." Sakura answered. "My mom and Dad have a lot of sightseeing to do so I'll be here tomorrow. The red haired woman bent over and set a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Who's this Naruto?" She asked as the blonde boy looked at her. "Is this your new girlfriend?" She then asked with a laugh.
"Mom!!"
The red-head laughed and then smiled to the pinkette. "Hi there." She said. "My name is Kushina, I'm Naruto-kun's mommy." Her voice was childish and fun. Sakura liked her. She was almost jealous of the blonde Uzumaki boy. Her mom wasn't that fun.
"Sakura Haruno.."
"A Haruno…" Kushina muttered as a blonde man walked over. "I knew you weren't from around here." She then said. The blonde man held out a dango in front of her face and she stood up. "Oh…Minato-kun…look…" She pointed to Sakura with a grin. "Naruto-kun has a girl friend." She then whispered. But Naruto heard.
"Mom!!"
Sakura laughed as he turned every shade of red you could possibly imagine. The man known as Minato laughed. "That's my boy." He then said as he patted the smaller blonde on the head. "Not even married yet and he already has a girlfriend!" He and Kushina both laughed a little more, then she reached down and grabbed Naruto's hand.
"Common Naruto…you know we were only joking around." Kushina told him. "Now let's go. You can see her tomorrow." They started walking away and the blonde boy had no choice but to follow. He waved at Sakura and she waved back and they were soon gone.
"Bye!" Sakura yelled. Then she turned around and found her parents. After a day of shopping and a nice lunch, they went back to her mother's friends house. They had dinner and then all went to bed. Sakura couldn't stop thinking about the little boy she met though. He was just so….cute.
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The next morning Sakura ran down the stairs still in her PJ's. She ran over to the kitchen and tugged on her mother's robe. "Mom! Are we going back out?!" She asked in a yelling pitch. Her father cringed at this. Sakura guessed he was still asleep even though he was up.
"Yes….yes…later." Her mother said before taking a sip of her coffee. "I didn't finish my shopping, so we'll be going out later." Mr. Haruno smacked his head on the table making everyone look at him. Then they started laughing. "Oh dear….you don't have to come…"
Sakura took the moment to run back upstairs and get dressed. She cleaned up a little more then she usually does. She brushed her teeth extra long and brushed her hair till she could run her fingers through it with no problem. She put on one of her dresses and looked at herself in the long mirror. For a 6 year old, she was really excited and she never felt so pretty in her life. It was the boy….the boy known as Naruto did this to her. He must be some kind of hypnotizer and manipulated her into doing this.
She ran back downstairs and saw that her parents were still in their robes and drinking coffee. "Mommy! Daddy! I thought you said we could go!" The pinkette yelled as she ran over. Her father cringed again.
"How about this." Her mother said as she grabbed a pen off the table. She stood up and walked over to a desk. "I'll let you go on your own and we'll catch up with you later." She walked back over with a folded piece of paper. Then she handed Sakura her phone. "I wrote down Daddy's number and Akini's number. If you need us, call one of them."
Sakura nodded. She figured Akini was her mom's friend. "K I will." She said as she took the paper. She stuck it in the dresses pocket and turned around. She ran over to the door and opened it before leaving. She was excited to see him. She only hopped he was out there and waiting for her. It was her turn to blush….
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When Sakura arrived at town's square she looked around and tried to see if she could spot the blonde boy. The wind picked up and tossed her hair around, making it a little knotty. 'Darn it…' She thought as she tried to keep her hair from tossing around more. Her little blue dress was tossing around too. 'Maybe he's not here…' The pink haired girl then thought. Sakura sighed and took out the phone and paper….
* * * *
"Why are you in such a hurry Naruto-kun?" Kushina asked as the small blonde pulled her across town. Minato was behind them and seemed to be looking at a catalogue of homes.
"Oooo…look at this one Kushina…" He said as he walked a little faster to catch up. "After we get married…how bout we get this one?" He pointed to a house and she looked.
"That one is quite lovely." She said with a smile. "Show Naruto-kun." She then said as she pointed to the determined blonde. "See if he likes it." Minato nodded and walked faster. Then he held the paper down in front of his sons face. "What do you think dear?" Kushina asked as the blonde boy stopped.
"Yeah…yeah…" Naruto muttered before running off. "See ya later!" He then yelled. Kushina and Minato both watched their son run off with raised brows.
"What's gotten into that boy?"
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Naruto reached the town's square and looked around. He really wanted to see her again. He bit his lip and looked at the whirlpool. No one was near it that looked like her. He looked over by the ice cream shop to his left and saw a girl in a blue dress. 'Is that her?' The blonde thought. He watched her pull out a piece of paper and a phone.
Then the wind blew the paper from her hand.
* * * *
"Hey…" Sakura reached up and tried to grab the paper. "I need that!" She jumped around and chased it. No one seemed to notice and grab the paper for her. She chased it all the way over to the whirlpool and stopped. It landed on the top of the water far enough away from the pull of the middle's current. 'Stay cool Sakura…' She thought as she got on her knees.
She reached her hand out and tried to grab the piece of paper. Her finger touched it, but then it floated away. 'No….come back…' She thought as she reached a little more. Then her hand slipped and she fell in with a yelp.
* * * *
Naruto's eyes widened and he ran over as fast as he could. His parents were just behind him and saw the whole thing as well. "That was that girl!" Kushina gasp. Minato nodded and then noticed that their son went after her.
"Naruto!"
Naruto didn't hear his father yell for him. He ran up to the side of the whirlpool and got on his knees and grabbed the hand that was still holding on to the edge. "Don't worry Sakura-Chan! I'll pull you up!" He yelled as he started pulling. People were now looking over and were all covering their mouths in surprise and horror. He pulled her up and turned his body to get her up all the way. Then when he went to stand up and help her up, his left foot slipped inside and he fell in himself.
* * * *
Sakura coughed as her hair dripped with water. She looked up and looked at the whirlpool after hearing many people gasp. As she looked she saw another person disappear under. "What? No!" She crawled over and reached inside the water hoping she could get a hand or an arm. She opened her eyes and saw that a hand grabbed her arm.
It was him. The boy she met yesterday. He was being pulled under and she wasn't that strong. She didn't know if she'd be able to pull him up. 'Hold on Naruto-kun….' The pink haired girl thought as she tried to pull him up. But the force of the current was stronger then her. Sakura saw him smile slightly and before she knew it; he let go. She screamed underneath the water as his face disappeared into the depths and then someone grabbed her and pulled her out.
It was Minato. Naruto's father….
"Naruto!!!" Kushina screamed into the whirlpool. Minato asked Sakura over and over if she was ok. But the pink haired girl kept telling him that she was fine and that Naruto had drowned. He only told her he knew his son was gone and all that mattered was if she was ok. But Kushina on the other hand had a whole different attitude on the situation. "NARUTO!!!!!" She cried. People that she knew came over and tried to comfort her until Minato finally did.
"Sakura!"
The soaked pinkette looked over to her right and saw her mother running over as fast as she could. She hugged the little girl with all the strength she could deliver. "Sakura! What happened? Why are you all wet?! What's going on?! Why is that woman crying?!"
Sakura looked around in a daze. It all happened so fast. Everything was fine one moment and now the boy she liked…..was dead. "Mommy…." She started as her eyes started to tear up. "I met this boy yesterday…" She looked at Kushina, who was crying in Minato's arms. "And today….he saved me…but….he fell in too." She then said as she pointed to the whirlpool.
"He drowned?" Her mother asked as she looked at the spinning water. Sakura nodded and Mrs. Haruno looked at her husband. "We should speak with his parents.…since it is Sakura's fault." Sakura's heart skipped a beat. It WAS her fault. Her fault that this boy died. She stood up and ran off after a few moments. "Sakura!" Her mother called, but the pink haired girl didn't listen. She only ran back to Akini's house….crying.
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Hours later Mrs. Haruno and Mr. Haruno came back to Akini's house and saw that she was trying to comfort the small crying girl. "She's still crying?" Her mother asked as she set a bag down. Akini nodded and kept rubbing Sakura's back.
"She told me about the whole thing." Akini told her after. "She told me about the boy, the ice cream and the whirlpool…." Her green eyes softened and she looked at her long time friend. "I think it would be best if you guys left. It might help her."
Mrs. Haruno nodded and took out a paper. "We spoke to the boy's parents for a while and got their numbers and the address of their new home." She said. "We might go visit them and give them a little company every once in awhile." Akini nodded and looked at Sakura. "Sakura dear….are you ready to go home?" Her mother then asked.
The little pink haired girl nodded from behind her knees and dropped her legs. Then she stood up and walked up stairs to get her things. "Who were the parents?" Akini asked after a moment.
"The mother was Kushina Uzumaki and the father was Minato Namikaze." Mrs. Haruno answered. "They weren't married just yet but were planning onto next week." The names bade Akini gasp.
"Kushina-san?" She asked. Mrs. Haruno nodded. "Oh….She's part of the main branch. A main branch heir died!? That's bad! That's very bad!"
"Please calm yourself Akini." Mrs. Haruno said to her friend. "We already had a talk with her ok?" Akini nodded and sat back down on the couch. Sakura came back down the stairs with a very depressed look and her father set a hand on her head.
"Don't worry….you'll forget about it soon." He said to her. This only made her cry even more on their way to the car. Because she knew he was right. She would forget. And she didn't want to. As it drove away she cried silently in the back. She killed a boy….it was her fault. And just like her father said…..She was going to forget all about him…… and move on…..
