A/N: I should have been studying for the exams but this suddenly popped up my head so... voila!
My second published fan fic. T'was supposed to have a sad ending but... I don't know. I don't feel like making this a sad one.
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. There, I said it!
11:11
I glanced at my wristwatch. People say it's the time when you can make a 'wish' and it'll come true. Like a wishing well, minus the 'penny-throwing' part.
I used to believe it too. I still remember waiting for that time to come on the rooftop with my hands on the back of my head as I gaze at the stars and checking my trusted wristwatch once in a while. When it comes, I close my eyes and say my wish in my head, sometimes whispering it to the wind.
.
.
"Please let Sasuke-kun be safe."
.
.
The routine eventually became a habit. I even did it sometimes in its morning counterpart. Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at me weirdly the first time they saw me suddenly pausing in the middle of the road and closing my eyes, as if on a prayer. Naruto asked me about it once, but dismissed it quickly after I smacked his head rather hard, implying that I don't want to talk about it.
"Thank goodness the message got through his thick skull. Must be quite a smack I did there," I snickered silently as I remembered that day. Sasuke also gave me an inquiring look but I ignored it. He, unlike Naruto, doesn't need to be smacked in the head to get the message across his also thick skull.
The weird (and sometimes annoyed) looks I receive from both of them, mostly from Naruto, became less and less until I realized that they're getting used of my short pauses. They still don't know why I do it, though. The only thing they knew is that this happens every time before lunch.
The wishing continued, even after Sasuke left me on that cold. hard bench to pursue his brother and finally avenge his kin. His leave made me wish more fervently for his safety.
The habit only stopped when Naruto came back, beaten to death and without Sasuke-kun. It even turned out that the one that did it to him was no other that the person I always dedicate my wish with. As I looked at Naruto's sleeping figure with bandages almost everywhere then I realized that wishing was useless and one must do the work himself to make their wishes come true.
.
.
'We will bring him back to safety, definitely.'
.
.
I asked – no, begged the Godaime-sama to take me as an apprentice, hoping that I will be strong enough to bring Sasuke-kun back. My very strict and demanding training sessions never gave me the chance to indulge on things such as wishing for something at 11:11. The wishing became less and less... until now I realized that I'm not doing it anymore.
.
.
.
I still think it's stupid until now. We can make a wish anytime and anywhere we want. And besid—
"OI, SAKURA-CHAN! Let's go to Ichiraku's, I'm starving!" Naruto's booming voice broke me from my reverie. Together with him is the boy, now a man, she always wish his safety for.
—es, it's useless to wish for something if it already came true, right?
And I smiled.
January 23, 2011: Decided to the previous mistakes and add a few details. I think the story's now polished, in my standards. Lol.
Thank you for giving your time in reading this! *insert hugs and kisses here*