Hi there, my fellow readers! Before you do what you do best, I'd like to clear something up. I'm not a NaruSaku fan. Neither am I a SasuSaku fan. And yet, I still felt compelled to write this story down.
Also, just to let you know, this is my first oneshot ever, so I hope I did a good job despite the shortness.
That's that. Now then, I hope you enjoy this short oneshot :)
Three weeks before she drowned, the air smelled of salt. The soft scent danced with the last sunrays, hovering over the calm sea and settling down, as the temperature fell. She sat in the sand, by the beach and gazed off into the horizon with a small smile on her lips. The gentle wind caressed her face and pushed back the stray locks letting them fade into the sky. Colors, ranging from blue to purple to rose, seemed to change her hair, reflecting the beautiful shades of the summer sun. Never looking away, she rose. She dusted off the back of her shorts, before she stepped into the ocean, where the waves splashed up her bare ankles, foaming and licking her skin. Absentmindedly, she fiddled with the lilly in her hair. The afterglow darkened her features and with it, she closed her eyes. The ocean air filled her lungs to their fullest, and they remained that way, her body simply basking in the pastel colors. As she breathed out, her lids fluttered and expectantly, she looked at the rim between water and sky. Her jade orbs glittered in excitement and anticipation. They seemed to drink in the view, sucking it in with such greed, that it nearly disappeared into her. Lips parted into a sweet smile, as she turned around herself, as if searching for someone who wasn't there. Her face fell, eyes downcast, smile broken. She tilted her head back slowly, strands slipping off her shoulders. The night sky provided her with comfort.
That's how I found her. Standing in the water up to her knees, fingers wrapped within each other under her chin and eyes fixed on the passing clouds. She couldn't have looked more lost. Seeing her like that, made my heart ache. I wish I had known what she was waiting for, wish I could have gotten it for her, wish I could have conjured up that breathtaking laugh of hers. But I didn't. I couldn't have, with the way she shut everyone out. Even after I had already knocked down some of her walls, the strongest remained: The one's that took more than attention and love to force them to crumble. Behind them, she hid her inner most desires, secrets, she didn't want anyone to know. Not even me. And it hurt. I loved her and yet she faked her smile. I loved her and yet she didn't let me in. I loved her and yet... She didn't love me back. That's the feeling that burned my chest. It was warm, but it slowly destroyed my soul. Before long, it would have become numb if it had continued that way. Now, that's all I am.
She stood there again, a week later, staring at the descending sun. She was full of hope. The ball of light sunk into the water, leaving room for the rising stars. Just like a few days prior, she turned around hastily and her eyes lightened up in delight when her gaze fell on me. It had given me a bubbling feeling in my stomach, which was replaced by sudden coldness, when the corners of her mouth turned down. "Naruto." She whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. I swallowed, when I saw the tears slipping down her cheek. I didn't understand, but something within me broke. I didn't want to see her that way. She took a step towards me, wiping her face with the back of her hand briefly. I didn't move. It would have felt wrong to. I wanted to help her, but I wouldn't have been able to console her. "I'm sorry." She said, chuckling. Oh, how fake it was. I could see it in her eyes and in the way her thumbnail dug into her skin painfully. None of it was real. "I just got a bit sentimental." She continued, looking straight at me. "What are you waiting for." I said. My voice broke slightly. Her eyes widened just a fraction, before going back to normal. "I'm sorry." Was all she said. It seemed sincere, in pain, sad and hurt, but sincere. Then she walked away, leaving me alone in the darkness of the night, blissfully unaware that I had less than two weeks left with her. Had I known, maybe I would have run after her. I might have given myself to her, let her choose what to do with my heart, let her throw me away, had it been what she desired. I would have listened to her apology, for not feeling the same way. Maybe, I would have stayed at the beach longer, crying my eyes out, staring off in the distance, asking the twinkling stars how to help her. Maybe, I would have thrown myself into the ocean that day, just so I could die with the two parts my heart had already broken into, instead of having it shatter into a million pieces. Maybe... I could have stopped it from happening.
But I didn't know. I was oblivious, blind and heedless to the reason of her hurt. How could I have ever believed such a brave, compassionate and spirited person would fall in love with me? Why would she stay with a fool, who couldn't see her wasting away.
It continued on like that, me watching her each night, paying more attention to her changing mood than the beautiful sunsets. I didn't even stop when the sky opened up and let down buckets of water, that could drench you within three seconds. On the last day, the girl still stood in the water, despite the vicious waves and deafening wind. She was staring at the horizon, where instead of the sun, a threatening thundercloud loomed over it. Her scream was swallowed up by rushing water. The drops dragged her voice to the ground, letting it shatter on the sand, leaving small dents in the grains. When I stepped closer, I picked up soft spoken words. Unlike the high-pitched cries, they hovered in the air and reached my ears with ease. "I need you." The rain intensified. Small dents turned into craters. "Please. Take me with you." The ocean dragged a layer of sand into its depths. It lashed out further, until I, too, stood in the freezing cold. I didn't care. All that mattered, was the girl ahead of me, shaking, weeping and screaming. "Sakura." I said. The wind stole her name from my lips. He dragged it far away into the ocean, never to be found again. She moved, advancing further into the darkness. Stumbling after her, I called her again, yet she didn't stop as I did, not until the waves had claimed her legs and waist. Then she turned to look at me. Tears tarnished her cheeks along with the intense rain from above. Her teeth were clenched and nose scrunched up in agony. "He's never coming back." She whispered, but the weight of those words seemed so thick, that the rain no longer managed to squeeze through. I knew who she was talking about. I didn't understand how I could have been that stupid and self-obsessed, that I couldn't see the obvious. "He'll come back. He always has. He promised." I said. What came out of my mouth stung my core. Jealousy heated my gut. He was the one who had gained every last speck of her attention and affection. He was the one who'd stolen her love.
Her face didn't brighten up at my words, instead, she hid it behind her hand. Delicate nails dragged over her skin, clawing at her hair and pulling at it, as if to distract from the inner misery she was suffering from. She started mumbling. "You don't understand." Over and over again, she said it, until it turned into a scream, that shook the heavy atmosphere and allowed the droplets to fall again. "He's dead!" She cried, stepping back, sinking deeper into the abyss. "Sasuke's dead!" The heat dissipated. Dead. Her first and only love. Everything within me froze. Thunder struck. Sakura fell backwards. My heart shattered.
Oh dear. Mine did, too. XD
Let me know what you think! :)