I would like to point out that I do not own Naruto.
This is chapter 2. Read, Enjoy, and Review.
Please forgive any spelling mistakes. I wrote most of this chapter late at night and I got a little sleepy.
The world could be falling to pieces around Sakura and she wouldn't have noticed. The only two words in her mind were "Sasuke died." For as long as Sakura could remember he was the one she loved, even if it was one sided. He was what she dreamed of, she had so many dreams where she called him silly for not noticing how he actually loved her sooner, then they would wed. the dreams always ended before he said 'I do.' Sasuke had been the driving force for her to train harder and she became a medical ninja to help her team mates.
Sasuke went on his own missions, he went on missions with higher ranking ninja to help himself advance. Sakura hadn't the chance to prove her strength to him. So then she started to work in the hospital under Tsunade. For the longest time she trained under Tsunade, until she was set loose on her own. Remarkably she handled patients and emergencies quite well. She fell into a set pattern, and then missions were requiring more ninja. More would return injured. Sakura couldn't bare to leave and not help. And so she was sucked into her world of work. The money she earned was incredible, but she'd missed all of her social life.
Sakura hadn't keep in touch with many during the several months of working. She went out with Ino occasionally during that time, but she was always to tired or physically exhausted to really pay attetion or notice her surroundings, what was being said or anything like that. She was so out of it except when she was working. Her work had her full attention. She used every ounce of whatever it took to save the emergencies. Under her care many lived, the ones that didn't make it always seemed to find a way to stick in her mind. Sakura wondered how she let herself get so absorbed in work. How she could have gone on blissfully unaware. Suddenly the drink in front of her didn't seem appealing. Drowning her sorrows with alcohol didn't seem like the right way to deal with the sudden feeling she got.
Sakura didn't touch the drink she had taken a gulp from. Taking some money she placed it on the bar. It was more than enough to cover both her drinks and Ino's. She pushed away her drink and left Ino at the bar. Sakura pushed past all the people chatting with their friends. All the people flirting and making out on the side lines. Their happy existence made her rush. She had to get out of the suffocating atmosphere.
She broke free of the crowd and exited the bar. People were still all over. Sakura walked as fast as she could without passing out or stumbling to much. She had to get home. She felt tired, and especially sick. Passing buildings had closed signs up in the windows. Houses had no lights on. Even the crickets made almost no noise. It was as if the world went silent.
Making it to her apartment Sakura nearly collapsed onto the couch. She ignored the ringing of her phone. Her phone rang several times and then it went to voice mail. Sakura tried to keep herself together. There were only those two words.
Ino would be upset for now. Sakura was sure of that. Once she sobered up though Ino would let it blow over. Ino was good about that. She didn't stay mad long.
Sakura broke into tears. Not loud and awkward sobbing but silent steams of tears. Her heart was aching, and a lump was in her throat. She gave herself a headache, and cried herself to sleep.
Sakura stood under a cherry blossom tree. It's petals falling like snowflakes all around her. The petals accumulated on the ground, they filled the air and swirled around in the wind. Almost like you could see the wind and the way it moved.
Sakura's jade eyes were focused on something far away. A tall dark figure. Stepping closer she could see the figure turn and walk away from her. She walked fast following the person practically cloaked in darkness.
Suddenly the cherry blossom trees faded into a dark and foreboding forest. It looked like the forest from the chunin exams. The name of the forest eluded her at the moment, though she remembered it wasn't pleasant. She hesitated for a moment. Her eyes focused on a dark spot in what seemed lik e the pitch black darkness of the forest.
She took one step, certain that the figure was Sasuke.
Sakura opened her eyes. Her apartment looked the same as ever only so emptier. She wasn't on the couch anymore. Instead she was lying on the floor. There was a soft buzzing sound. The alarm in her room was buzzing. Six am.
Sakura got up stiffly and pushed the off button on her alarm. She got in the shower and washed away the smells of the bar. She let the water rain down on her until she ran out of warm water. She pulled the clean white towel around her and went to change.
She found the Haruno clan shirt and she pulled it on. Sakura pulled on her black leggings and the tan skirt to go over them. Automatically she reached for her black boots next. The headband was last. She tied it behind her and she avoided staring at her empty distant eyes in the mirror.
Sakura hurried off to the kitchen. She brushed her teeth after having some toast and jelly. She left her house feeling like she was a hollow shell of what she once was. It was to be expected. Sakura remembered learning from Tsunade herself that ninja went through the same grievance steps that anyone else did when they lost a loved one or a team mate. Sakura was somewhere on the numb stage. She looked at the sky to see that it was cloudy overcast. She sighed and left her apartment.
Her feet took her to that familiar training grounds. Sakura didn't care to look at her surroundings. She passed all the familiar buildings she had grown up around. She didn't care to watch any of the happenings around her. She simply continued to put one foot after another. Her eyes were distant and she was so out of it she almost missed it when someone called out her name.
"Sakura!"
She lifted her head and turned. It was someone she had hardly expected to see. Rock Lee jogged to catch up to her. He stopped several feet away from her.
"It is a good morning for training," he said so enthusiastically. "Is that what you are were going to do?" Hie bright round eyes watched her face.
She placed a small fake smile on her face and nodded once.
Rock Lee either ignored this or didn't notice. "Excellent! Would you like to train with me?"
His eyes were expectant of an answer. Sakura looked away from his eyes to his bowl cut. How little he had changed. He had grown taller, the muscles under his clothes looked bigger. Rock Lee is someone Sakura would not like to train with, the reasoning being that his workouts were known as hardcore. Hoping for a distraction from her emotions or lack there of she nodded.
"Right," Lee said. He led the way into a small clearing in the training ground in the forest. There were a few training dummies, jump ropes, weights and shuriken. "Start with whatever you like."
Lee busied himself with doing one thousand push ups. Sakura eyed the dirt path that went through the the clearing.
"Where does that go?" her voice held some curiosity.
"It goes around Konoha," Lee said. "It is excellent for running. If you want I can run with you."
Before he finished Sakura took off running. Her feet hit the soft ground without making much noise. She wasn't jogging, she was running. Her heart began to quicken it's pace to keep up with her. It felt good to feel the burn in her lungs, and also in her legs. The fog in her mind seemed to lift slightly. The wind stung her eyes and made them water. She welcomed the cool air on her skin as she sweat.
She rounded a corner and continued past low shrubs and tall trees. She could see houses through the dense trees and in between the bushes there was a path. Before she could stop her eyes she saw someone walking on the path.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of black eyes and black hair. The image of Sasuke filled her mind. She hadn't stopped running, her distraction made her step in a slight hole. She fell, face first, towards a tree.
There was also a familiar, "Hn."
For a moment she felt disoriented. She felt the rough bark of a tree under the hand she had propping herself up now. She found it odd to see a dark liquid trail down the tree until it stopped. She realized it was her blood. She brought her other hand up to her nose. There was the source of the crimson mystery liquid. She pinched her nose and waited for a moment. Her head was aching and she heard the crunch of sticks beneath someone feet.
A hand was stretched out beside her face. She gave the hand her none bloody hand. With some help she was standing up and she got a good look at him.
I also would like to state that I didn't know exactly how to follow the first chapter. I wrote this chapter once, then erased and rewrote it. I did that once more and then I was satified with the chapter. Any suggestions are welcome. I've thought of having her fall in love with someone but I'm having a hard time of deciding who. I have a few of my favorite pairings for her in mind but I welcome anyone's suggestions. Remember to review. Whatever time it is you read this at: Goodnight, Good Morning, Good Afternoon.
