I do NOT own Naruto or it's characters, just the plot. Now that that is out of the way, welcome to the first installment of New Beginnings!
Never before in her life did she think she would have to answer this kind of call, never did she think she would ever get this kind of news. These kinds of things just didn't happen to people in real life. They only happened in TV shows and animes, right?
"Sakura! Sakura, are you alright?! What's wrong?!" , a voice yelled, clearly upset and panicked.
Her eyes unseeing, her phone dropped from her hands, landing on the grass beside her as she fell to her knees. This was all a joke right?
"Sakura, answer me! Who was that on the phone?! What happened?! Sakura!"
There's that voice again. She knew that voice, but whose was it? Who did it belong to. The girl, Sakura, shook her head, musing her cherry blossom hair. She lifted her head and blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. When her vision finally cleared, she was greeted with the sight of blond hair and an orange hoodie. Naruto her best friend. Naruto, the brother she never had.
"Sakura, what happened? You're starting to scare me." , Naruto asked, finally able calm himself down a little, not wanting to scare her. Whatever she'd been told over the phone had obviously freaked her out pretty badly. Him being his usual noisy self really wouldn't help anything at this point.
"N-Naruto they're-they're dead. Mama and papa, they're dead. They got into an accident on their way home, Naruto. They're gone...oh god, they're gone!" , Sakura muttered, close to crossing into extreme hysterics.
No words could describe the way Naruto was feeling, he'd always had a soft spot for Sakura and her family. Seeing as his own wasn't around and most of the people in their little town didn't even give him the light of day. Instead of responding, he wrapped his arms around his friend, no, his sister and brought her back against him so her face was in her chest.
The moment Naruto engulfed her in his arms, the flood gates seemed to have burst and nothing could stop the tears from falling and staining Naruto s favorite orange hoodie. Neither one knew how long they had stayed there until Naruto had heard footsteps coming their way.
Turning his head to see who was approaching he couldn't help but sigh when he saw the unmistakable spiky ink colored hair of their friend, and his life long rival, Sasuke. As their friend approached, Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question at Naruto as he watched the scene before him before he lowered himself to his knees behind Sakura. Even though the quiet boy wasn't much for touchy-feely kinds of situations, he placed a hand on the pinkettes back, silently letting her know that he, too, was there for her.
"They died, Sasuke mama and papa died" , Sakura whimpered through her tears.
Sasuke retained his silence, he offered no words of comfort because at this point all she needed was her friends support, not pointless words. He felt his heart clench at her pain. The trio had been friends since childhood, and now even though they were closing in on adulthood, little had changed in their relationships.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sakura's seemingly endless stream of tears finally ceased as she finally cried herself to sleep in her blond haired friends arms. Shifting the now sleeping girl in his arms, Naruto carefully stood with her in his arms and looked down at Sasuke who had yet to utter a single word. It seemed as if he was still processing the heartbreaking news himself. All the ink haired teenager had for family was an older brother whom he hadn't seen in quite some years. Sakura's family had taken him in and given him the family he had needed as a small child after his own parents untimely deaths. In Sasuke's eyes, it was like losing his own parents all over again. Naruto couldn't even try to imagine what was going through his friends mind at that point.
"We should get her home, Sasuke. There's no point in keeping her out here when she should be resting at home." , Naruto said quietly.
"Do you really think bringing her back to her house is the smartest idea? Maybe we should bring her back to my place, it is quiet there and she won't have to face the home she shared with them right away.", the ink haired teen suggested, finally breaking his silence.
With a single nod of agreement, the two boys set off down the street towards Sasuke s apartment, not knowing exactly what to expect when their pink haired friend, no, their sister awakened from her crying induced slumber. Thankfully the walk to Sasuke s apartment was only a ten minute walk at best. It wasn t that Sakura was heavy, she was actually quite light. The boys just wanted her to wake up in a place she was comfortable in case she needed the two boys when she awoke.
After quickly unlocking the front door to the house that was once shared with his parents, Sasuke ushered Naruto and the still sleeping pinkette into his home before closing the door and shifting the lock back into place. Not even bothering to slip their shoes off, the teenagers made their way towards the living room where Naruto carefully set Sakura down. He grabbed the worn blue throw blanket from the back of the couch and carefully laid it over her to keep Sakura from getting cold. After making sure she was comfortable on the couch, the two boys made their way to the next room, the kitchen.
When the boys got into the kitchen, they gave each other a silent look of understanding. No words were exchanged because at that point, what was there to say? They knew their friend would need them more than ever right now. But when they thought about it, would she truly want to stay in the house that she had shared with her parents? Would she want to stay in the town she grew up in, where her parents had raised her? Would she be able to bring herself to continue to attend the school that she had gone to her entire life, knowing that she would no longer see her mother, an English teacher at the school, not wandering the halls between the classes she taught? Whatever choice she made, the boys would respect her choice and support whatever she chose to do. But for now they would just be there to offer her the comfort she so desperately would need when she woke up.
She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but as her mind was adjusting to consciousness she suddenly remembered the new she had gotten just hours ago. She held in her tears to the best of her ability. Her parents wouldn't want to see her like this, they would want her to be strong. They would want her to pick herself up and make a new and better life for herself. She would stay in town until after the funeral, sell the house, and move to start a new life for herself. Leaving behind Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be easy but she knew that they wouldn't hold her back. They would support her on the condition that she came home regularly to check in with them and that they were given a new key to her new home so they could pop in when they chose to.
Sakura was broken out of her thoughts by a crashing sound in the kitchen, opening her eyes she slowly lifted herself from the couch and finally registered where she was. Sasuke's house, the boys knew exactly what she would need when she woke up. She smiled softly at their kindness, she really couldn't have asked for better friends, brothers.
Quietly making her way towards the kitchen, she peered in at the sight in the kitchen. The boys standing in the center of the kitchen, glaring at each other. It seemed as if Naruto had attempted to cook and dropped what looked like the remaining pieces of a bottle of milk shattered on the floor. The blond should have known better than to attempt to do anything in the kitchen aside from eating a meal. He was utterly useless in the kitchen. She couldn't help the giggle that passed her lips. Both boys broke out of their glaring match and stared at her wide eyed. Just how long had she been there watching them? They couldn't help but smile at her, they d much rather she laugh at their expense than cry her heart out over the loss of her parents.
Not even bothering to ask what had happened in the kitchen or what caused the milk to be dropped, the pink haired teenager made her way passed the boys and grabbed the broom that she knew would be resting beside the fridge. She carefully began to sweep all the glass into a pile before sweeping the pile into the dustpan and disposing of it in the garbage can behind Sasuke. She really couldn't help but smile at her two friends, they really would be hopeless without her. But deep down she knew they would make due without her constant presence.
"How are you feeling, Sakura?" , Naruto asked, a slight smile on his face.
"I think I'm alright, I mean I'm still hurting but screaming and crying isn't going to make a difference. What happened happened and my parents wouldn't want me to scream and cry, they would want me to stand tall and be strong. So that's what I am going to do. I'm going to be strong for them, and move forward. It won't be easy, but loss never is. I honestly don't think I'll be able to do it alone, but I know I'll have you two to help me." , Sakura said softly, she looked at both Naruto and Sasuke with a look of pure love and adoration.
"So what are you going to do now, Sakura? Have any ideas?" , Sasuke spoke up quietly from his spot in the kitchen.
"Honestly, I think once the funeral has passed I'm going to sell the house and move a few towns over and get my life back on track. I know it may seem too soon to make those choices, it hasn't even been a full day yet but I think that is what my parents would have wanted me to do. I don't think they would have wanted me to stay cooped up in that big old house alone all the time when I wasn't at work or school. I mean obviously I'll still come back and visit and you two would have a key to my new home. You'd always be welcome." , Sakura explained. She looked up the her two best friends and expected them to try to convince her to stay. She saw only understanding in their eyes. Both boys had had a feeling that that was what she would choose and had already come to terms with it.
The three teens embraced and stayed like that for awhile until the undeniable sound of stomachs rumbling broke them out of their peaceful trance. All three couldn't help the laughter that escaped each of their mouths.
"Let's just order some pizza or something before Naruto attempts to cook again and damn near burns down the kitchen like last time we let him cook a meal." , Sasuke smirked.
The other two teens nodded in agreement and they ended up ordering four large pizzas, knowing that all three of them could finish a single pizza themselves and still go for a few more slices after. They had this down to a science after so many years of friendship.
After their dinner came and went, the crippling exhaustion of the days events bore down on all three teens and they all decided it was time for bed. Instead of separating and going to their respective rooms they d claimed in Sasuke s house they all headed towards the bedroom Sakura claimed for herself. None of them bothered with night clothes as Sakura crawled into the middle and the boys climbed in on opposite sides of the bed. She faced away from Naruto who threw an arm comfortingly around her waist and pulled her close. Sasuke laid facing her and he too, threw and arm around her middle and drew himself as close to her as he could. After exchanging tired good nights the three easily fell into dreamland.
Two weeks past since Sakura had gotten the news of her parents deaths and the funeral had come and gone. The house had been easily sold and packed. And now here she stood in front of the moving truck that was to take her and her belongings to her new home in Iwagakure. While she was nervous, she was also excited to start anew. Saying goodbye to her school and childhood home hadn't been easy but saying goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke would probably be the hardest thing she'd had to do in her life. Aside from saying goodbye to her parents.
After giving her two best friends keys to her new apartment and giving them her new address she engulfed them both in a heartfelt hug. She poured out every ounce of affection and love that she possessed into their embrace, which they easily returned.
"I love you two, I'll come home as soon as possible to visit, stay out of trouble okay? Don't try to cook again Naruto, you know you can't, just accept it. Sasuke, try not to be so hard on him, you two need each other since I won't always be around right now. And please you two-" , Sakura was cut off by Sasuke putting a hand over her mouth. She frowned at her ink haired friend and raised an eyebrow in question.
"We'll be fine Sakura, we're grown men, don't worry so much." , he smirked. She had always been a mother hen to the both of them, even as children. It seemed that part of her would never go away, and the teens didn't want it any other way.
With one last hug to each boy and promises to call once she reached her new home, Sakura made her way to the passenger side of the moving van. Opening the door, she hoisted herself into the van and closed the door. She gave her friends one last wave and a sad smile before signaling the driver that she was ready to go.
With one final look at her hometown, Sakura looked towards the horizon of her new life. Her new beginning.
Well there's the prologue to this story heh. First time trying to write a Naruto story so hopefully it wasn't too terrible. As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed so I know if I should continue this story! Any criticism is greatly appreciated and welcomed. Until next time!