Hm, okay, so this my first story,and songfic, and I really hope you like it! Oh, and, please review! Thank you,
-W.M.
Damn Cold Night
I'm standin on the bridge.
I'm waiting in the dark.
I thought that you'd be here, by now.
There's nothing but the rain.
No footsteps on the ground.
I'm listening, but there's no sound.
Sakura leaned on the railing of the bridge, as the rain pelted her pale, porceline skin.
Where is he, she thought.
She sent chakra to her ears, listening harder for his footsteps, but there was no sound.
Isn't anyone tryin to find me?
Won't somebody take me home?
Sakura curled into a ball, clutching her knees to her chest and let a single tear slip her her eye.
Doesn't anyone care that I'm gone, she asked herself.
No. I'm going to go into the forest, and stay there all night, then go home tomorrow and see if anyone noticed I was gone.
Sakura stood up and trudged into the ever welcoming darkness and warmth of the forest.
It's a damn cold night.
Tryin to figure out this life.
Won't you take me by the hand?
Take me somewhere new.
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you.
She was surprised to see a dark figure ahead of her. He reached out his hand, and Sakura felt kind waves coming from him, and took his hand and let him lead her.
Sakura watched the man, looking for a place here that he could be leading her to. She found none, and giving up, she tried to see past the man's hood. She couldn't see his face.
In front of them, was a large tree, light peeking from its roots.
Sakura peered ip at the man curiously, and he guestured to the tree, and lifted up one of its roots for her.
She slipped into the man's underground home, and found that sevral other people were curled up inside, hiding from the rain, as well. Looking back, she found the man was no where to be seen.
Do I know anyone here, Sakura pondered absently.
Nothing's going right right now. Everything is so messed up!
A little girl ran towards her, and tripped. Sakura caught the little girl in her arms.
The girl played with Sakura's hair for a moment before speaking lightly.
"No one likes to be alone, come play with me, please miss?"
Sakura smiled lightly, this child was so sweet and innocent, not yet poisoned by life's hardships. She still had joy shining in her eyes, a smile always on her face. Sakura smiled wider.
"Okay, I'll play with you. But I'd like you to call me Sakura, please, and if you don't mind, I'd like to know your name."
The little girl smiled.
"Come play! I'll let you be my favourite dolly! Come, please!"
Sakura smiled and let the little girl pull her along.
I'm looking for a place.
I'm searching for a face.
Is there anybody here, I know?
Cause nothing going right.
And everything's a mess/
And no one likes to be alone.
As she played with the little girl, a young boy ran into the room, panting.
"Sis! Mamma's been looking everywhere for you! It's time to go to bed now."
The young boy then proceeded to look at Sakura suspiciosly.
"Who're you," he asked.
She smiled.
"My name is Haruno Sakura," she replied.
The boy looked at her for a moment then went to the door and screamed,
"MAMMA, I FOUND HER, SHE'S UP HERE IN THE PLAY ROOM WITH A PRETTY GIRL!"
Sakura smiled at the little boy who had just realized what he said and was blushing.
A flustered looking woman rushed into the room, and scooped up the little girl.
"There you are, sweetie. It's much too late for you to be awake, and now it's time ofr you to go to bed."
The woman turned to Sakura.
"Thank you for looking after my daughter, thank you so much. She always seems to be getting into some kind of trouble. Were there any problems?"
Sakura leapt to her feet with fluid, agile and cat-like grace and shook her head.
"No, not at all, in fact," she said smiling at the girl.
"She was just like a little princess! I was glad to keep an eye on her."
The woman sighed happily.
"Where have you been all my life? You are the first person to look after my daughter without wanting to drop her off a branch. Would you be willing to look after her some time again, dear?"
Sakura smiled.
"Call me Sakura, please, and yes of course, I would love to! I love children, and I'd take care of your daughter any time you'd like."
The woman smiled happily as Sakura gave her her address and phone number.
Before they left, Sakura gently placed the little girl's doll into her hand.
"Thank you for letting me play with you, princess," she whispered to the girl.
When they left the room, Sakura's smile dropped and her expression was replaced with a sad and longing one.
Isn't anyone tryin to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
She went back out to the living room and looked for the exit. Spotting that she was under it, she pushed the branch up and shoved herself back outside and into the rain and cried silently into the bitter frost. It wasn't this cold before, was it, she thought. She seen the man out of the corner of her eye, and he sat down next to her.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and let her cry into his. His touch on her bare skin was electric, and she didn't want it to ever end.
It's a damn cold night.
Trying to figure out this life.
Won't you take me by the hand.
Take me somewhere new.
I don't know who you are but I...
I'm with you, I'm with you, yeah,yeah.
Sakura didn't know what to do, she couldn't wrap her mind around anything.
Why hadn't he come?
Who was the man?
What was this place?
Was anyone looking for her?
Maybe I'm going kooky, she thought. Weee!
Oh, why is everythig so confusing?
Maybe I'm just out of my mind.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!
Sakura stopped crying, but stayed leaning against the man, letting him rub his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"You're warm," she murmured, hoping to hear his voice.
"You're just cold," he whispered gruffly.
Sakura didn't recognize his voice, but she would remember it forever.
The wind whipped at their faces, but they stayed like that, huddled together for warmth, and Sakura smiled as she fell into a warm, soft, deep slumber, in the arms of the man that she didn't know.
It's a damn cold night.
Tryin to figure out this life.
Won't you take me by the hand.
Take me somewhere new.
I don't know you you are but I...
I'm with you, I'm with you.
Take me by the hand.
Take me somewhere new.
I don't know who you are, but I,
I'm with you! I'm with you!
Take me by the hand.
Take me somewhere new.
Don't know who you are but I,
I'm with you! I'm with you! I'm with you!
Sakrua woke in the morning, and found herself on a patch of warm, soft moss.
"What the... What am I doing here..." She asked herself, before memories of the night before flooded back into her conciousness.
She leapt up gasping.
Where did the man go- did he do anything to her? ... No, judging by how he acted last night, and the good feeling she got from him, she doubted it.
So... Where was she?
And... where was the big tree with the house underneath?
And... And... Had anyone noticed she was gone last night?
If... If they did... Did anyone really care...?
Sakura sat down for a moment, and looked at her surroundings.
Recognizing her current position, she realized that if the went left, and kept going, she would find the big tree.
If she went right... Right... Right back into the village.
She glared at the right and leapt to her feet and happily went left.
Okay, I remember counting three hundred and seventy nine steps from the forest opening, and it was twenty seven steps to that patch. I've still got a ways to go yet.
She walked and walked until she got to the place where the tree should have been, but foungd that it wasn't there.
"Wh-wha? How? I mean-... What," she sputtered.
Sakura sighed sadly. It felt that part of her was missing. She rubbed her shoulder where he had held her, and felt patterns scarred into it.
Sakura gasped as she gazed at herself.
There was no mark- but she could feel it.
Gazing at the empty ground where the tree had been, and turned and headed back to the village.
It would never be her home again, not after the night before.
She would find that tree, she would find that man, and then they would figure everything out.
Sakura snapped out of her zone, and found herself on the bridge.
She had rested her elbows on the ledge, her arms up over the water, when it happened. She had been tracing the pattern of the 'scar' on her shoulder, when she realized that it was a message.
This is what it said,
It's a damn cold night.
Tryin to figure out this life.
Won't you take me by the hand?
Take me somewhere new.
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you.
Sakura's eyes widened, and she uttered one name,
"Naruto," she breathed, and then she was gone, and her only trace, was a single pink cherry blossom, intertwined with a lock of pink hair.
Sakura raced into Ichiraku's ramen shop, frantically searching for the loud blonde, but to no avail. Crying out in dismay, she raced on, to his apartement.
No one was there.
Sakura searched all around the village, searching for her best friend, but found him nowhere.
Saddened, Sakura trudged into the forest for the second time in a row.
Looking up, she gasped.
There was Naruto- putting on the same outfit that the man had worn the night before!
"NARUTO!" Sakura cried out, sprinting to reach him.
Naruto looked up, with a face like a deer in the headlights.
"Sakura-chan- I-"
He wasn't able to finish the sentence, Sakura had wrapped her arms around him.
"You idiot. What do you think you're doing, scaring me like that. I thought you left!"
Naruto frowned.
"I'd never do that, you know I wouldn't... And for last night..."
"Don't, Naruto. You don't need to. I read what you wrote. Only you would do that, and you know what, I'm not mad."
Naruto stared at Sakura.
"You really mean it? You're not mad?"
Sakura bonked him on the head.
"No, Naruto. I'm not mad. I'm happy. Last night, made me feel better than I've ever felt- ever."
"Even when-"
"Even when."
Naruto regarded her for a moment, before enveloping her in a hug.
"Naruto, you idiot- you're squeezing too hard!"
"Sorry, Sakura-chan."
"It's okay. Um Naruto, where did the tree go- and, who were those people?"
"Right where it was last night, and the people were people from the village, it was an illusion trick. I just didn't think you'd come back to the forrest again until tonight."
Sakura bonked him on the head.
"Sorry Sakura-chan."
"I'm not mad. I'm happy. Now take me to our tree."
Naruto took Sakura by the hand, and pulled her along the same path as the night before, and as they sat in their tree, an arm wraped around ther other's shoulder, holding hands, they smiled.
Fin
Yay, my first fic is done! I really hoped you liked it! Please review, thank you!
And BIG THANK YOUS TO Euphoria123, who was the first to encourage my writing. THANK YOU, EUPHORIA!
Well, yours always,
-W.M.