Okay, this is a compilation of one-shots I've written fuelled solely by the midnight oil and lack of anything else to do. This first one is intended as Naruto Sakura friendship but take it as you will. I do have a longer story but not the time to type it up, so be patient, and make criticism where you will, just don't be violent about it. I've seen some pretty nasty reviews on my friend's site.
When it rains in Konoha
Sakura walked home through the deserted streets – it was late at night and few were up, fewer were about in this part of town. It was dead at night, and she appreciated the silence and solitude, because no-one would ask her why she was crying. It began to rain, the thin light cast by the moon extinguished as clouds invaded the sky. The tears on her face mingled with the rain, and only the redness of her eyes showed that she was upset.
Naruto was back, but it only made it all the more devastatingly clear to her that Sasuke was gone. And, most likely, would not be coming back. The rain began to beat down harder, hammering onto the pavement, misting the slick stones with spray. Her tears began anew as she remembered, regretted. She still hadn't forgiven herself for being unable to stop him.
She leapt up onto the roof of a shop, its windows dark and shuttered, closed for the night. Here she could weep loudly and uninterrupted, the sound of her tears drowned by that of the rain beating down. No-one knew that she still cried.
Naruto entered his apartment for the first time in years. Nice to see they thought to dust, he thought sarcastically, choking as his foot sent up a cloud of it. He opened his window to clear the air and looked out over Konoha. It really hadn't changed. He was still feeling the fiercest pangs of nostalgia. He was home. It had never felt so good.
It began to rain. He sniffed at the air. It still smelt the same, Konoha when it rained. And Sakura when she's sad. He startled. Kyuubi's senses had been very useful to him, but it still shocked him that he could detect even the subtlest changes around him. Sakura… He locked his apartment door behind him as he set out to find the distressed girl. As he got nearer he heard a familiar sound, and his heart ached. She was weeping loudly, kneeling on the roof, shouting her pain to the heavens, which hurled their tears straight back at her. He came up behind her, standing a little behind her.
"Damn you, Sasuke!" she yelled, her voice hoarse. She had dropped the –kun long ago. Naruto winced at the raw emotion she managed to convey in that scream. Anger, hurt, conflict. She didn't startle when he knelt behind her and wrapped his arms around her gently. Instead she relaxed and leant back into his warmth, welcome against the stinging cold of the rain. He held her gently as she wept silently.
She let him hold her as she cried, glad of a companion who understood her. Ino tried to cheer her up, when all she really needed was to weep, let her emotions resolve themselves over time. Time heals all hurts, they say. The familiarity of him after all this time made her feel better. All quarrels forgotten, they were drenched by the rain, both grieving for a lost comrade.
"I'll bring him back. I promised. And I'll keep that promise," Naruto told her firmly. He picked her up and took her back to her house, tucking her into bed like a child, and leaving her with a kiss on the forehead.
Yeah. This particular story started out as a picture I drew. I thought it was sweet, and wrote a little story around it. Hope you liked it.
Please review! (though I won't die if you don't)