A week has passed since Konoha was demolished by Pain. The damage done by the leader of the Akatsuki was devastating. Most of the village was gone. It was blown away with a single jutsu. All that's left of Konoha was a giant crater.
The pain that the survivors felt was unimaginable. The feeling of being hunted down was indescribable. Witnessing everyone, everything that they loved, disappear right in front of them was frightening.
Thankfully, despite all of the casualties, everyone who had their lives taken away against their will were given a second chance to live.
This was all thanks to a hero. The boy who was looked down upon during their childhood, the boy who had no parents and was made fun of for it, yet he still saved them all regardless of his past. Uzumaki Naruto is the hero they need, but not the one they deserved.
"It's fine Sakura-chan!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he grinned mischievously. "I don't need a party! Really!" He was currently having his daily checkups and was seated on a chair inside a hospital room.
The jinchūriki may be strong, but Pain was no joke to laugh at. The only reason he even won against him was because he didn't have the intent to kill, but to capture.
Sakura, the only female of Team 7, was the one responsible for attending to Naruto's wounds for the week. It was the least she could do for the blond. When she lost hope, he was the one who pulled through and defended the village.
"Naruto, everyone thinks of you as a hero now! Are you really going to let the villagers down after they agreed to throw you a party?" Sakura shouted as she hit Naruto lightly on the arm, indicating that he could put his shirt back down. His checkup was complete.
Naruto stared at his teammate in shock, and then softened up into a small smile. Sakura knew that look. Whenever he had that smile on, it wasn't because he was happy. It was the same smile he had when he promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back to the village.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura said, voiced filled with concern. She wasn't sure what was on his mind right now. Naruto was usually the one who liked parties the most since there would be a lot of food. During their gatherings, he would blackhole everything, leaving the rest of them with scraps. So why wasn't he excited to have a party and relax?
Naruto began to rub the back of his head and laughed anxiously. "W-W-Well… I guess… It's just that the village still needs to be rebuilt and we shouldn't waste any time!"
Sakura crossed her arms and sighed. "The village is mostly rebuilt already. We're in a hospital for crying out loud!"
The village wasn't actually finished with the construction. Yamato worked day and night, using his wood release to build houses and others buildings that are required. Things such as hospitals, homes, and Ichiraku as requested by Naruto. But this was only a simple layout. The more technical stuff could be built later.
Trying to find another excuse, Naruto scratched his face with a finger. "But Granny Tsunade is still –"
"Tsunade-sama is already up." Sakura interrupted with a bored look on her face. "Kakashi-sensei brought a bottle of Sake in honor of her protecting the village, and she magically woke up when that bottle hit her bedside."
It wasn't a lie, it's like the Hokage lived for sake. She sprang up and chugged the bottle of alcohol so fast that even Kakashi's sharingan couldn't keep up with the contents in the bottle.
Naruto began to giggle, and Sakura followed. She then pulled lightly at his sleeve and stared at him seriously. "So what's wrong? You can tell me anything."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head again, but this time slowly. He then tilted his head down with a sad smile on his face.
"Well… I guess it's just that… I'm not used to being treated like this…?" Naruto then looked up at Sakura and began to wave his hands out at her in a panic. She was clearly lost for words. "I-I-It's not that I don't like your company or anyone else's… but it just doesn't feel right."
After hearing her best friend, she felt a little disheartened. She can feel the ache in her chest. It was true that people look up to Naruto now, but not so long ago, people would ignore him, badmouth him, and even deny him services because he was the ninetails jinchūriki.
However, that wasn't the reason why Sakura felt a sting in her heart. She had no right to blame the villagers for what had happened to Naruto. How can she? She was also part of it. She would live the rest of her life in guilt for what she had done to little Naruto. She even knew that he liked her, yet she still dared to ask him to bring Sasuke back just so that she could live in her own little happy fantasy.
Sakura gulped and faked a smile. "W-W-Well you should get used to it." She began to laugh nervously and hit his arm again. "Everyone looks up to you now. You're the role model for the future generations. The future hokage!"
Naruto looked at her in awe. He enjoyed being complimented by Sakura. It made him feel happy and giggly. His face then shifted into a genuine smile. "Thanks Sakura-chan."
Feeling relieved, Sakura wiped her forehead with her hand. "So how about it? Tonight, we'll have a party at the park with everyone."
Giving him a little time to think about it, he finally agreed with a nod.
"Alright then! That does it! We're having a party for you tonight!" Sakura cheered as she stood up. She could also use this time to relax a little. After what had happened a week ago, she was clearly stressed out and had sleepless nights.
Naruto stood up as well, a bit flustered. He was fidgeting with his fingers, clearly nervous. Before Sakura could walk out the door, he shouted out to her. "Hey Sakura-chan!"
Sakura turned around at the sudden call of her name. "Yes Naruto?" Looking at Naruto, Sakura could clearly tell that his cheeks had reddened.
Putting on the most confident expression he could at the moment, he began to talk. "Sakura-chan, do you think I'm a hero?"
Sakura just stared blankly at him for a few moments. It was now her face to redden. The room went silent. She didn't know what to tell him. Sakura forced a smile. "What's with the sudden question?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Before… you said that the village thinks of me as a hero… does that include you…?" He asked shyly.
Sakura was taken back by the question. She couldn't lie to herself, of course she thought of him as a hero, even long before this whole Pain invasion started. He saved her so many times she couldn't even keep count of all of them.
"Ummm…" Sakura mumbled like she was being asked out by a boy she liked. She then nodded slowly as she tried to hide her face by looking at the floor.
After a moment of embarrassment, the room was still silent. Why wasn't he saying anything? She looked up from the floor to see if Naruto got the message.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Naruto, staring blankly at the girl, had tears flowing down his face.
Sakura didn't know what she had done to get that expression.
"What's wrong Naruto?!" Sakura asked as she grabbed both his arms
Naruto shook his head with a smile. Pulling away from her grip, he wiped the tears with his hands.
"It's nothing… It's just that… you finally acknowledged me…" Naruto said with a light-hearted tone.
Sakura could feel her heartstrings being pulled. It was this warmth that Naruto radiated that made her feel attracted to him.
She didn't know why her opinion of him mattered so much to him. She truly believes that he deserves someone much better than herself.
On the contrary, Naruto felt like this was one step closer to his goal. His goal to winning Sakura's heart. He knew that Sakura still had feelings for Sasuke, and he's still trying his hardest to bring him back, but just being acknowledged by Sakura made him feel like he could do anything. If he could bring Sasuke back, then Sakura would truly acknowledge Naruto.
He doesn't even mind Sakura ending up with Sasuke as long as she was still beside him.
He truly felt happy to just be second.
Sakura managed to pull a straight face after that emotional reply from Naruto. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the blond.
"Come on Sakura-chan! The sun is going down; we should get ready for the party!"
Naruto walked ahead of her and left the room. Sakura stood there in thought.
Of course, you're my hero… Even if one day, I wake up forgetting you, you will always be my hero
With confidence and a smile, she ran after the boy
A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first Naruto fic! Chapter 1 is basically just the prologue to the story. I haven't written a fic in a long time so I'm just testing the waters by making a short first chapter to see if it does well with the readers.
The next chapter will be the beginning of the real story and I hope you all enjoy it!