Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or K-ON (if I did, Itachi would be still alive and Mitsu would be canon).
The intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms filled the air above Konoha High School. It was already early May and the freshmen seemed to get used to the environment of high school, along with the cherry trees that filled its court. Thousands of pastel-colored petals danced with the breeze until they met the light green grass, making even poker-faced people drop their façade and give in the unique beauty of spring.
The bell had just rung, giving students the permission to leave that solid jail, commonly known as school. After a tiring day full of physics, chemistry, mathematics, literature and the rest of those boring subjects they were obligated to attend, all students were now free to relax and enjoy their afternoon. Of course, the fact that it was Friday made it even better and consequently all of them had a wide smile on their faces. All, except for a girl who resembled to a fully bloomed cherry tree, with whom –ironically- shared the same name. Her emerald eyes seemed liquid, as if they fought against the urge to cry. She stood alone, in the corner of the park that was in front of her school, and looked like she was waiting for someone. She seemed nervous and worried and it was painfully obvious that whatever she was about to do was not something pleasant to her.
Suddenly, she stood up as she heard a very familiar male voice. A handsome raven-haired boy was making his way home, along with the company of his best friend. Gulping, she gathered all her strength and approached them.
"Hey Sakura-chan!" exclaimed a hyperactive blond the moment he saw her. Sakura returned the greeting with a fake smile on her face, while she felt her boyfriend's arm tangling around her waist. Then, she turned to the black-haired boy and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.
"Sasuke-kun, could we please talk for a moment? Alone?" she asked, her eyes meeting the ground.
"Ok, I got the message, lovebirds. See you later!" said the blond, walking down the road.
"Thank you, Naruto. What I want to discuss with Sasuke-kun is really important and extremely personal, so please don't feel offended" apologized Sakura.
Naruto only grinned and waved to his friends. Sasuke on the other hand, stared at Sakura with curiosity. What was that so 'important' and 'personal' matter she wanted to talk about?
They were both sitting on a bench at the park. Actually, that wasn't just like any other bench. It was there where they first admitted their love for each other, where they kissed for the first time, where they vowed they would be together until the bitter end. That bench was really their spot.
They couple stayed there for a long time without talking, when Sasuke, annoyed by the silence between them, tried to break that awkward ice.
"Well, why did you ask me to come here?" said coolly.
Sakura blushed and felt uncomfortable. But there was no going back now. She couldn't chicken-out that time.
"Huhh, it's about what happened the other day. In your house…" she trailed off, unable to continue.
Sasuke blushed at remembering the things that had occurred between them three weeks earlier, when their relationship was taken to another level. He came back to reality though, when he observed tears pouring down Sakura's face.
"Sakura, what's wrong? Does it still hurt? Did you regret it?" he asked worried.
She didn't respond for a while and that made him more anxious.
"Sakura, answer me."
"I thought you would… That you did—… and we were safe… But you… You should be more careful, Sasuke-kun" she managed to say between her sobs.
Sasuke couldn't figure out the meaning of her words, until it hit him. She couldn't possibly be talking about…
"Sasuke-kun, I'm pregnant…" she finally confessed, caressing her currently flat belly with her left hand. More tears were now running down her porcelain skin, staining it, and she fell into his arms, waiting for him to respond.
Sasuke stood there motionless. He didn't know what he was supposed to say. His mind had gone completely blank. Damn it! They were freshmen in high school and becoming parents at such a young age was certainly not something they were planning. How was he going to be a father when he wasn't even fifteen years old?
"Please, say something! Anything!" she pleaded, bringing him back to his senses.
"First of all, when did you find out? And secondly, are you sure? Tests' accuracy is questionable" responded with the hope that this was only a nightmare.
"I did several tests a couple of days ago and all of them were positive. So, I decided to go to the doctor–something that I did yesterday… I don't think it's necessary to repeat what the results were…" answered Sakura.
So, it was true. A child was growing within his girlfriend's womb. A part of him felt unbelievably guilty. He was the one who should have made sure that they had taken the right precautions to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. He mentally cursed himself for being so reckless and irresponsible. But it was too late to fix it now. They had to find a solution soon, before things got worse, and panicking wouldn't help the case. Sasuke did his best to restrain his senses, even if this wasn't an easy task. Sakura, on the contrary, had broken into tears and her hands were trembling.
"Sakura, calm down, please. Crying isn't going to solve the problem" he said as tenderly as he could, wiping away her tears. "There are not many options about the resolution of the case and the worst part is that all of them are going to hurt us eventually, in one way or another" he continued.
Sakura had stopped crying and looked him straight to the eyes, waiting to hear what he was going to say.
"First option: we're getting married and we bring up this child together. Of course this is not going to be easy at all, as we will need your parents' approval because we're underage. Also, this means that you will have to give up school and stay at home with the child for a good amount of time, while I'll have to continue high school and then find a job as soon as possible. Second option: you have an abortion" he said lowering his eyes.
Sakura stared at him intensely after his last comment. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be in favor of this, as his face adopted an unpleasant expression from the moment he proposed it.
"I am not going to kill my child" she stated without any emotion in her voice.
"That's something I wouldn't like either" he said back.
"What are we doing, then? We're forcing ourselves into a wedding because of the baby, refusing to follow our dreams? I love you, Sasuke-kun. I really do. But I don't want you to destroy your life because of me and this…" said Sakura, pointing in her stomach.
Sasuke remained silent. His view for the future did not contain marriage until he was done with his university studies and had a job.
"And here we go again. Trapped in a dead-end" said Sakura, slightly smirking at her rhyme.
"There is one more option, but includes a lot of emotional pain: we give the child for adoption right after its birth" proposed the boy.
The girl dwelled on the idea for a long time. Carrying the child until it's born and then give it to another family to raise it on their own wasn't the best solution for sure, but at least the fetus would not be killed and it may had the opportunity to have a better life than that they could provide it with.
"Let me think further about that. I can't make such a decision spontaneously" declared Sakura the moment she stood up from the bench.
"I want you to know that I'll be by your side no matter what happens and whatever your choice may be" said Sasuke.
She simply gave him a bittersweet smile and walked away, trying to pick up the broken pieces of her heart.
"How on earth can you be so foolish as to fail to use protection?" shouted an angered male with long black hair.
"I had never had sex before and I didn't know what to do. It never crossed my mind what the consequences might be" said Sasuke with an apologizing manner.
"Of course! I mean, babies are brought to life by storks. Sex has nothing to do with pregnancy. Am I right, Sasuke?" mocked his brother.
"I wasn't planning to sleep with Sakura that day. It just happened. Had I known it, I would have been prepared" responded the younger boy in order to defend himself.
"And what are you going to do? Don't tell me you're gonna keep it" said Itachi harshly.
"We are giving it for adoption. We have already talked to Sakura's parents and they agreed. At first they were rather negative about that and insisted that Sakura make an abortion immediately, but they compromised eventually. Moreover, Sakura will stop school until winter, when the child is to be born" stated the boy.
"For the time being, I think it goes without saying that you help her financially."
"I have already proposed that to her, but Sakura was too proud to accept my offer" said Sasuke.
"I believe you should overlook her refusal and provide her some economical aid. Her parents might not be able to carry the burden of her pregnancy" insisted Itachi.
"I'll do my best" promised Sasuke.
It was a cold January morning when their daughter was brought to life. Her birth was rather difficult and lasted many hours, but fortunately the child's health was not jeopardized. Sakura had been staying in the hospital for a week before she gave birth to the child and Sasuke had been visiting her every single day. But, the closer they got to the labor, the sadder the felt about what was settled to come.
"Sasuke-kun! Mother! Mhmm! It hurts!" screamed Sakura as she finally felt her child's head getting out of her.
"Push, Sakura! Push! It's only a matter of time before the infant is out completely" said the doctor.
Sasuke was next to her all the time. Sakura was grabbing his hand during her labor to feel reassurance. When he saw how much the girl suffered, he blamed himself. If only he had been more responsible…
Suddenly, after a throaty moan coming from Sakura, a small whimper echoed in the hospital room. A small creature had just made its appearance out of Sakura's body and brought tears to everyone's eyes.
The boy immediately kissed his girlfriend's forehead. She had gone through so much physical and psychological pain that it was almost unbelievable that she was able to stand it. He observed her green eyes, which were now watery –from happiness or sadness? He couldn't tell- and understood that even though he had hurt her, she didn't seem to hate him. In fact, it was obvious that she still loved him.
"Congratulations! Your daughter is perfectly fine! Miss Haruno, it would be better if you relaxed for a while. The labor was really exhausting and your energy is depleted" said the doctor, taking the girl with her to clean it from the blood.
"I'll try to" said Sakura quietly.
"Sasuke-kun, I think we should let her rest" said Sakura's mother to the boy, who nodded. "Sakura, in case you need anything, I'll be outside" she told her daughter who closed her eyes in affirmation.
Sakura was left alone in the room for nearly five hours. During that period, she wasn't able to sleep at all as every time she closed her eyes, she would recall her child crying.
A light knock was heard at the door followed by a 'May I come in?'. Hardly had Sakura responded to the question, when the door opened and a nurse walked in.
"Glad to see you're awake, Miss Haruno. I thought you would like to see your daughter, so I brought her here. She's so cute! Like an angel!" exclaimed the nurse happily.
"Hand her over" said Sakura with a saddened expression on her face. "Thank you for bringing her".
The nurse left the room quickly, smiling at the view of a mother with her newborn daughter.
The moment Sakura took her daughter to her arms, a strange feeling built up within her. She wasn't sure if it was unpleasant or not, but she was sure she had never felt like that before. For a split second, she wanted cancel the adoption and raise her child herself, but she knew she couldn't do it.
The nurse was right. Indeed, the baby girl was very beautiful. She had her father's black hair and her eyes were slightly lighter than Sasuke's but with Sakura's shape.
The baby seemed to be comfortable within her mother's arms. Her tiny lips had formed a small but utterly warm smile while she looked to Sakura with curiosity.
Sakura smiled back, trying to keep her tears in her eyes.
"Please, don't hate us for leaving you. It's because we can't give you the happiness you deserve. But, never forget this: your father and I love you with all our heart. No matter where you are, we will always be by your side" Sakura whispered to her daughter.
Eventually, she couldn't win the battle against her tears.
"Sakura, Mrs. Akiyama is here to see the baby" said Sakura's mother while walking into the room, disturbing the girl's interaction with her daughter.
"Hello, Sakura-chan! Pleased to meet you" said a brown haired woman around her forties.
Sakura gave her a fake smile in return.
"This is our beloved baby?" asked rhetorically the woman.
Sakura nodded.
"Can I hold her?" she asked politely.
"Of course you can. After all, she is your daughter" responded Sakura's mother quickly, taking the infant away from the girl and giving it to Mrs. Akiyama.
"She is my daughter" Sakura wanted to say, but the words never left her mouth.
"She's lovely! Have you named her?" exclaimed the brown-haired woman.
"No" answered Sakura.
"Can I name her, then?" asked a very happy Mrs. Akiyama.
Sakura only shrugged her shoulders in affirmation.
"Let's see! What name would be the most appropriate for a beautiful cherry blossom like you?... That's it! Mio! Beautiful cherry blossom!" she said extremely pleased. "Sakura-chan, what do you say? Do you like it?"
"It's perfect" responded the young mother.
"I'm afraid I have to take the child, now" declared a nurse who had just come into the room.
"I see. I think I'll be going now" said Mio's foster mother. "Goodbye Sakura-chan, Mrs. Haruno", she waved them and then turned to the baby, "Goodbye, Mio".
Sakura was left in the room with her mother. A pregnant silence occurred until Sakura's mother stood up to get outside the room.
"Mother, could you please tell Sasuke-kun that I want to see him?" asked Sakura with hesitation.
"I will" her mother reassured her.
Sasuke came in shortly after and sat close to Sakura. They remained silent for a long time, unable to look each other straight to the eye. They wanted to say so many things, but unfortunately they couldn't find the right words to express them. Their inability to handle the situation was driving them crazy. Once again, the boy was the one who gathered all of his remaining courage and dared to speak first.
"So, how do you feel?"
"Terrible" responded the girl flatly.
"As far as your health after the birth is concerned or—"
"Sasuke, don't speak anymore. You're only making it more painful"
Sasuke said nothing after that. He lifted from his sitting position and moved towards the door, feeling emptier than ever in his life.
"Sasuke-kun… Farewell" whispered Sakura, as if they would never meet again.
He was not strong enough to turn his head and look at her. He was much of a coward to confess how much losing their child hurt him. He was too weak to tell her how much he loved her and the infant they brought to life. He was not himself anymore.