Long……………
He's been gone for so long…………..
Fighting them on his own…..Is he even ok?
This was all Sakura could think at the moment. Naruto and Nagato were alone out there somewhere…..But where? She blinked and looked at all the people who had joined in with the search for their favorite knuckle head of a ninja. Everyone was just about as worried as she was. She didn't like the feeling she had either. It was a rotting feeling deep down in her gut that told her that this was going to end horribly. She didn't like it one bit. Ino; looking a little depressed, approached the pinkette. "Sakura…..Should we split up?" She asked. Sakura slowly nodded and Ino then walked away. She told the others and they soon went their own ways. Sakura…..just stood in place.
That feeling wasn't going away. She wanted it to leave. No. She needed it to leave. She looked at the sky. The village was gone now……it needed major repairs. Naruto…..he was missing. Maybe he's out there horribly hurt. If he is….he could be in trouble. Sakura shook her head to the thought and started looking for Naruto again.
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After a few hours of searching, Sakura stopped to rest. She leaned on the tree and looked at the sky. It had started to sprinkle a bit so the rain droplets hurt her eyes a little. Naruto was out there somewhere. She knew he was. He had to be. She pressed her ear piece and asked if anyone had found him, but no one confirmed a find. With a sigh she took her hand away and sat on the ground. He was gone. Lost forever. 'Naruto…' She thought in pure sadness as she looked down again. "Where could you be?" She then asked the damp forest air. She heard a waterfall in the distance and looked over her shoulder. It was in that direction. If there's a waterfall……….there's a cliff. She could go to the top and yell for the blonde. She nodded at the idea and stood up.
"Sakura…Chan?"
She blinked and turned around. The voice was familiar and she liked that it was. But at the same time….She didn't. "Naruto…" She mumbled as she walked over to the blonde. He was leaning on a tree with one hand and seemed to be holding him chest with the other. "Sakura-Chan….I..I…" He didn't finish what he was going to say. He just fell to the ground. "Naruto!" She called as she caught him. She flipped him over and gasped.
Blood….
Lots of blood was around his chest. It looked like someone had reached in and torn his heart out. "Naruto…please…..say something." She mumbled as his eyes twitched. His hand twitched as well and felt a small flower next to them both. Then he opened his eyes and smiled. "Sakura-Chan…" He mumbled as he picked the flower. He held it up and smiled. She then took it and looked at him again. "I….I love you…" He then mumbled. Her eyes widened as hi hand fell limply to the ground. His eyes shut as a smile spread across his face. "No! Naruto!! Wake up!!" She yelled as she started to heal him with her free hand. She didn't want to put that flower down for some reason. She couldn't.
"Naruto please! You can't die!!" She cried. "Naruto!!" She yelled even more as the rain above grew stronger. She cried for so long….hoping that he'd open his eyes and gasp for air. But….her healing wasn't affecting him at all. "Naruto please don't die on me…" She then mumbled as tears and rain dripped off her nose. She was now shielding the flower from the rain so it wouldn't get wet. "You….you can't…" She set a hand on his rain soaked face. "I didn't even get the chance to tell you that I love you…." She moved her hand down his neck and searched for a pulse. "Please be alive….please…..please…..ple—" She stopped. Eyes wide and full of even more tears.
There was NO pulse.
"No!!! Naruto!! NO!!!" She cried as she threw herself onto him. She cried onto his bloody chest for as long as she could. Ino and the others has heard her cries and yells and made their way over as soon as possible. As soon as they did, Ino gasped and looked away. She couldn't bear to look. Sai only blinked and looked away in sadness as Yamoto starred horrified. After a few moments Yamoto walked over to Sakura and set a hand in her shoulder. "Sakura…" He mumbled. She stopped crying and looked at him. Or at least she tried to stop. "He's gone….lets go home ok?" Hr asked; trying to comfort her. But all it did was make her even sadder. "No!" She yelled as she threw herself onto the blonde again.
'Naruto…..I love you…so much….'
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It was soon after this tragedy that Naruto's body was taken away. There was no funeral….at least not yet. The village was in desperate need of rebuilding at the moment. The whole time Sakura helped, she kept that flower he had given her before his death close and safe in a little vase. She carried the flower where ever she went. Even when she went to go see Naruto's grave stone. She smiled as she held the flower close. He meant a lot to her and she blew it. He died before she got the chance to tell him how she felt. "Naruto…I'm so sorry…" She mumbled as she knelt down in front of the stone.
She wasn't even sure if his body was buried under there or not. No one told her. The last thing she saw was the ANBU taking his body away. She set a hand on the stone and rubbed it. "I wish I could have told you in time." She whispered as if she could speak to his ghost. "I hope everything is alright were you are….everyone says that you're in a better place now but…..that's what they always say right?" She asked with a slight giggle. She stood up and held the flower close to her cheek; eyes closed and mind wondering into thought. A slight breeze made her open her eyes and shift her hair. Then when the breeze died down a bit a petal of the odd flower fell off.
Her eyes widened as it slowly fell to the ground. And when she was just about to look away and cry the petal stopped. She blinked as it rose back up and connected with the flower and became a part of it again. She looked up as if she was looking at someone beside her. "Naruto?" She asked as she held out a hand. Nothing happened. Not even a ghost like touch to her hand. She sighed and looked at the flower again. It was rather odd that it hasn't died yet. But this was even weirder. That was the first time she saw one of the petals fall, and it came right back up like it was being rewound.
"Naruto…..your watching over me aren't you?" She asked the empty sky. She shook her head and started for the now half rebuilt village. "Thank you Naruto…" She then mumbled as she set the flower in a vase. She looked over to Ino and saw that she was trying her best to help rebuild her flower shop. She saw that a board was about to fall on her. "Ino!" She called as the board started to fall. Ino looked over and was going to ask 'what?' but the board got her attention. The blonde threw her arms above her head to guard it and then the board went flying the other direction.
Sakura blinked at the sight as Ino uncovered herself and looked at the board. She blinked as well and looked at Sakura. Wanting to say something she stopped herself as she felt a slight breeze next to her. Almost as if someone had landed next to her. Sakura saw Ino's reaction and looked at the flower. "No….Your watching all of us." She mumbled as she picked the vase up. "Naruto….I wish you were here…" She said as she set the vase down. Ino looked over and made her way over. "Sakura…That was really weird." She mumbled. Sakura nodded and looked at the flower. "It's Naruto…" She mumbled. Ino nodded at this with a smile.
"I figured it was him. Good things have been going on around here." The blonde said as she looked at the flower again. "Hinata almost killed herself but she claimed that some kind of force grabbed the kunai and flung it out the hospital window." Sakura blinked and looked at her. "That has to be him." She mumbled. Ino nodded. "Even Akamaru was acting up a little today around you…remember?" She asked. Sakura nodded and Ino continued. "I heard dogs can see ghosts….maybe he saw Naruto."
Sakura silently gasped and looked away. Was Naruto really following her around? If he was…..why didn't he show signs? Unless….All the strange things were his doing trying to talk to her. She picked the vase back up and looked at Ino with a smile. "Hey Ino….You wanna hang out tonight….Maybe sit under the stars?" She asked. Ino raised a brow and crossed her arms. "I dunno….I'm still a little upset from Naruto…." She mumbled. "Please?" Sakura then asked. Ino rolled her eyes and threw her arms down. "Ok I guess." She then mumbled. "Thank you Ino." Sakura then said as she walked away. Ino nodded and Sakura went to help someone with their home or shop.
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After she helped a few people rebuild a bit she decided to talk to a few people. Everyone said strange things happened to them every other day. Kiba said every time she walked by Akamaru just went off like a barking time bomb. He had to hold the dang dog's snout shut when he told her this. Then she got Hinata's side of the mysterious life saver from earlier that week in the hospital. She told her that she was so depressed that she just wanted to kill herself. But when she attempted to slit her throat, she felt something grab the kunai and throw it out the window. Then she remembered Ino's incident earlier that day as she started for Shikamaru's place.
He said that one of his lost game pieces magically turned up on his desk the other day. He even said that it was missing for over a year. She asked Choji. He said that he arrived at home and saw a huge bag of his favorite chips on his newly built counter. He didn't even buy them. But he said he ate them anyway. As Sakura left Choji's place she looked up at the sky. 'Maybe Naruto really is out there doing all this…..' She thought as she made her way over some rubble. She got to the top and looked at the flower. 'If he is…..I thank him…' "Yo! Sakura!" A voice yelled from in front of her. She looked up and saw Ino on top of a newly built building. "We gonna look at the stars or what?" She asked with a smile. Sakura nodded and jumped up. Then they both lied down and looked up.
It wasn't very dark, but they could still see the stars. "Ino…." Sakura mumbled. "Yeah?" Ino mumbled back. "What would you do if someone you really loved died?" Sakura asked. Ino sat up and looked at her. She didn't know what to say for a moment. Then when she thought for a second, she shrugged and lied back down. "I'd probably kill myself….it depends on how much I love the guy….why?" Ino then asked. Sakura blinked as she took the flower out of the vase. She then held it to her chest as if she was Sleeping beauty. She then shrugged causing Ino to sit up again.
"Sakura you…..you loved him didn't you?" Ino then asked as she realized the situation. Sakura didn't respond, only Ino went on. "And if you even try and kill yourself, I will kill you myself." She then said pointing. Sakura blinked and looked at Ino. "But Ino…" She mumbled. "No 'Buts' ok. Killing yourself is a bad thing!" She said. Sakura sat up and narrowed her eyes. "But you said you would have done it." She mumbled. Ino's arm fell limply to her sighed as her mouth stayed open to say something. But nothing came out. "See…" Sakura then muttered; lying back down.
"I-I didn't really mean it." Ino finally said. Sakura rolled her eyes and kept staring at the night sky. "Don't worry Ino….I'm not going to commit suicide." She then said as she smelt the flower. "He probably wouldn't let me anyway…" She then mumbled. Ino lied back down as well and looked at the sky. "Yeah….If he didn't let Hinata…..he's surly not gonna let you." She muttered. Sakura nodded in agreement and closed her eyes. She gripped the flower tighter and opened her eyes once again. When she did, a shooting star flew across the night sky.
"Ino, did you see that?" She asked as she pointed. Ino opened her eyes and shook her head. "No….what was it?" She asked. Sakura sat up as she kept her eyes on the sky. "It was a shooting star." She then told the blonde. Ino sat up and lightly tapped her back. "Then make a wish dummy." Ino then said. Sakura nodded and closed her eyes to make a wish.
{Return him to me…please….}
She opened her eyes again and smiled. "Done." She then mumbled as she lied back down. "Man I wish I saw it." Ino mumbled as she lied back down as well. "I would have wished for something amazing." She then said. Sakura giggled and looked at her friend. "Oh really now?" She asked. Ino nodded and looked at the sky again. "I think I know what you wished for." The blonde then muttered. Sakura smiled and closed her eyes. "Oh yea?" She then asked. Ino nodded and Sakura smiled even more. "What was it?" The pinkette then asked. Ino smiled as well and closed her eyes.
"You wished for Naruto to come back."
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~3 years later~
The village was all nice and rebuilt. Sakura was very proud of all the work she put into it. She helped rebuild almost every building she could lay her hands on. Another thing was that the flower Naruto had given to her before his death was still alive. It was odd….but she didn't mind. She visited his memorial everyday with it in hand and close to her heart. She did this to show his ghost; if he really did exist; that she cared very much for him.
One day on her way back to the Hokage's new mansion she was reading one of the books that she had gotten into a couple months ago. It had 'Magically' appeared in her apartment and looked quite interesting, so she decided to read it. "Hey Sakura?" Someone asked as she passed a building. She looked away from her book and looked over. Kiba was sitting with Hinata and Akamaru and seemed to be looking at her and the giant canine over and over again. "What's wrong Kiba?" Sakura then asked as she walked over.
"Well……Akamaru usually goes nuts around you and he's actually calm….isn't that weird?" He asked as he rubbed the dogs head. Sakura nodded and looked around. Did Naruto stop following her? Or did something else happen? She looked at Kiba and shrugged. "Maybe Naruto stopped following me." She said with a sigh. Hinata blinked and looked up from her cup of tea. "D-Do you think he w-was finally able to p-pass on?" She asked. Sakura shrugged again and started to walk away. "I don't know….but I'll see you guys later." She said as she walked away. Hinata and Kiba waved and went back to their daily lives as Sakura walked down the street some more.
When she arrived at the Hokage's mansion, she went to knock on the door but stopped when she heard talking inside the office. It sounded like the Hokage and a few ANBU were talking about something. Sakura set her ear on the door to listen. And to her surprisment….they were talking about something that happened only a week ago.
"You still can't find him?" What sounded like the Hokage asked.
"Yes….He completely disappeared." One of the ANBU said.
"He may have left the village as soon as he awoke." Another ANBU said.
"Now why would he go and do something like that?" The Hokage then asked.
"I don't know….maybe of being afraid" A third ANBU then stated.
"I don't care anymore….I want you to search outside the village. And I want other countries to be searched as well." The Hokage then said. Sakura heard them all yell "Hai" and then she heard them all disappear. She blinked as she set a hand on the handle, but stopped again as she heard Tsunade mumble something. She then heard the chair turn and another mumble. This time she heard what she mumbled.
"That damn Naruto…always being so unpredictable…."
Sakura gasped. 'He….He's alive?!' She thought as she started to back away from the door. Her eyes were wide with shock for a moment. Then when the door started to open, she quickly made her way out of the mansion. 'That's why Akamaru stopped barking but…..' She stopped and looked at the village gate. "How did he leave without getting caught and why did he leave?" She asked herself. She started walking again and smiled. "At least he's alive…..I don't know how but…..he is!" She made her way out of the gate and started looking around the forest. If he left only a week ago…then he can't be too far…
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After hours of searching, she stopped in a tree to take a break. She took the flower Naruto gave to her and smiled. The flower was now dying. Now that he was alive…..he couldn't keep the flower alive for her….so now…..it's dying. For some really odd reason though. She was happy it was dying. She held it close one last time and smelt it. 'Tell me where he is.' She thought as the pedals fell slowly to the ground. Then the wind picked the petals up and blew them in a direction. Sakura smiled and gladly followed the petals.
She followed them day and night, over mountains and across lakes and fields. She never rested, for if she did, she would have lost the petals and would never have found him. At times she stared to think she was crazy and was just chasing flower petals blowing in the wind….but she didn't give in. She kept going even if they would fly forever. She didn't care. She didn't care one bit. After the 4th day passed, Sakura found herself at a small village by a lake. The petals kept going, so she couldn't stop. She followed them through the village and to the lake. Then the wind kept the petals in place, making Sakura stop in her tracks. "What are they doing?" She asked herself as they fought with themselves on which direction to go.
"Please just take me to him." She said to the flying flower petals. Then they went right. She smiled and started to follow them. "Thank you." She mumbled as she ran around the giant lake. It took almost an hour to reach the other side of the lake. Then she saw the petals fly on over to a figure sitting in the sand with their knees held close. When they reached the person, they flew around them making them lose their concentration on the water and the beautiful sunset. They wore a black hood, so Sakura couldn't see who it was, but she was sure it was him. She made her way over and saw that the person held out a hand. Each petal flew into their hand and a new flower was born in its place.
Sakura stopped and raised a brow. Maybe it wasn't him….Naruto couldn't do that…..could he? She shook her head and continued walking towards the figure. As soon as she was 6 feet away, they held the flower up t o her; still looking at the lake. She stopped walking and looked at the flower. It was exactly how it used to look before it died. She then blinked and shook her head. "I don't want it." She mumbled as she lightly pushed their hand away. The person then held it to their face as she sat down next to them. "Your Naruto…..aren't you?" She asked. The person looked at the flower for a moment then she saw a nod.
Then without thinking; she hugged him with all her might. "I knew you were alive!" She yelled as she squeezed with her monstrous strength. "Ow…." Naruto mumbled painfully. She let go and smiled. "Sorry…But I'm just so happy." She said as he reached for the hood. He took the hood off and let out a breath. The air was cold, so a slight mist came from it. She loved the sight of his face again. She loved it so much that she could kiss it to death at the moment. "Sakura-Chan…." He mumbled; still looking at the lake.
She leaned her head to the side to get a good look at him and nodded. "Yes?" She asked. She saw him blink and gulp. "3 years ago…..when I 'died' did I really say what I thought I said?" He asked. She blinked and looked at the dirt; trying to think about what he's talking about. Then she remembered. "You mean when you told me that you loved me?" She asked. He nodded and she nodded back. "Yeah…You said that."
He sighed and fell over. "Damn it…Me and my big mouth…" He then mumbled. She looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Hey…but you know what the good thing is?" She asked. He sat up and blinked with curious blue eyes. "What?" He asked. She smiled and grabbed his hand that was holding the flower. "I love you too." She then said. He turned as red as the sky. "R-Really?" He asked. She nodded and kissed him on the lips. When she pulled away she smiled even more. "Naruto….I realized something very important after you died." She said. He raised a brow and smiled. "What is that?" He asked. She squeezed his hand a little and blushed.
"You never know what you have until it's gone…."