As someone mentioned, there weren't lines to mark the change of POV in chapter 1 and that is because FF deleted them in formatting after I revised and uploaded the chapter three times. So if this chapter still doesn't show the demarcation, I'm not sure it ever will.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto or the characters. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto or their respectful owners. This work is purely a piece of fiction and is for entertainment only, no profit is made in the publishing of this work.
How Does a Cherry Blossom Bloom?
Chapter 2: Sparks
Sakura bundled herself up in the short kimono with gusto. She was glad to finally be wearing something closer to the style and amount of fabric that she was used to. It had been a little over three weeks since she had arrived in Akaruichi and, as her mother had predicted, she had come not a minute too late. The people of Akaruichi went through a phase during mid teen years known commonly as The Blossoming in which their beauty, said to be derived from the beauty of flowers and granted upon their people by the gods, manifested to its peak. Ladies filled out, men became more muscular, faces appeared less childlike and more refined. Sakura's Blossoming had occurred two weeks after she was led away from Konoha and reunited with her parents, King Kaimaru and Queen Sagami, and the rest of her family. She now looked like she belonged to royalty: her eyes kept their sharp but gentle shape, her forehead was not as large as it was in adolescence, her breasts were a decent size, her waist stayed small, her hips widened out to carry a gown beautifully, and her legs had elongated just enough to give her some more height, which she carried with the grace of all the generations of kings and queens before her.
Now she was joining her family as an envoy to attend the springtime festival, the first time the Haruguchi clan, her clan, would be attending. She was interested in seeing the reaction on her friend's faces, she hadn't exactly told them where she was going, just that she would need some time off and that she was considering retiring from shinobi life. They certainly didn't know it was because it was her time to return to her true homeland and join her royal family as a productive member. This festival would be her first royal act: fostering good will with other countries. Akaruichi was not known in the shinobi world, powerful though they were, because they kept to themselves. The only reason Kaimaru had decided to form relations with other countries was because they had taught very useful survival skills to his middle daughter, who was not suited to any form of fighting but rather the arts and diplomacy. His kingdom was expanding and he would need more military and a better combat repertoire in order to protect his kingdom; after careful observation of what Sakura had learned in the ten years she was active he knew he could learn quite a bit from the shinobi.
Sakura sat down on the cushioned bench at the foot of her oversized bed and began to pull on her silk slippers; she, and all of her many family members, would be traveling in sedan chairs so she could have an excuse to wear some cute, non-utilitarian shoes for once. She had never had this much time to primp since her days in the Academy, before life-threatening missions were a daily occurrence. Ino would be ecstatic upon her return, not because she missed her best friend, but because of the wardrobe Sakura had inherited and was taking a good portion of with her on the trip.
x - x - x
Naruto spat out the broth of his ramen as Kiba smacked him to put an emphasis on a joke. Gaara let out a chuckle as he took another sip of his tea. There was never a dull moment when he was visiting the Hokage and his friends. It was nice to have a break from the paperwork for once; a chance to just relax and not worry about being the Kazekage. The spring celebration officially began tomorrow afternoon, but since Gaara had arrived earlier that morning Naruto took an executive half day.
"Alright, I say we start your visit off with a bang: fireworks!" Naruto had a big, foxy grin spread across his face.
"Sounds awesome to me," Kiba offered.
"As long as we have enough food, I'm in!" Chouji managed to enunciate with a mouthful of hot barbeque. "Shikamaru, you want to pick the main dish with me later?"
The advisor rolled his eyes at this prospect. "Ugh, how troublesome. I've already worn myself out explaining to the elders why Naruto is playing hookey the rest of the day. What about you do it, Lee?" Shikamaru had done more than his fair share of mediation to ensure the kage didn't get impeached.
"Yes! I will gladly assist you in picking the finest dishes for this splendid show of youthfulness!" Lee punched the air for good measure, even though everyone there knew he was more than willingly to help, to an overwhelming degree.
"Uuuhhh, okay then…" Chouji realized he would rather go alone and in peace than have to constantly answer Lee's questions on whether a vegetable was perfectly ripe for the youthful, stupendous occasion. Naruto, Kiba, Gaara, and Sai all snickered in unison, knowing that Chouji just signed himself up for the worst job.
"Well I'll obviously be in charge of fireworks," Naruto stood up from the counter containing 8 empty bowls of ramen, "Kiba you scout the location and tell us all by 6 tonight, Shikamaru you make sure you get permits, certificates or whatever we need so I don't get an earful at work tomorrow. The rest of you just make sure you don't look like bums when we start."
"Bossy even when he's not in his office," Kiba smiled and started to head out while the rest of them followed. "Sai you invite everybody else, might as well make it a family affair, right?"
x - x - x
Sakura darted away from the caravan as soon as they neared the doors of the Leaf village, her parents wouldn't be concerned as they knew enough about their estranged daughter to know that she was stubborn and wanted to do everything her way or not at all. She stepped lightly on each tree branch as she headed straight for her old apartment, hopefully later she could convince her family that they didn't actually all need to stay at the embassy together and she would be better off in familiar settings after so long away from her home. She jumped from the last branch and on top of the wall surrounding the village, the guards a bit shocked at someone attempting the jump the distance, but relaxing when they realized whom it was. She instructed them not to announce that she had come back on threat of several of their larger bones needing casting should they make a peep. Satisfied with their terrified faces, Sakura began hopping rooftops towards her home. Two buildings away from her complex she jumped down and walked the rest of the way, spotting an all too familiar ponytail whipping in the wind by her door.
"How did you get here so fast, pig?"
"I saw a boy with pink hair in that group that walked through and I'm not stupid, forehead." The blonde slinked off the wall of Sakura's building and turned to squint at her best friend. "Sooooo, where exactly have you been all this time? Because I recall, I believe the rules of friendship state that if you've left any clothes and makeup up there they're forfeit to me since they've been abandoned."
"Well then why did you wait for me to get back before ransacking the place? I know you've copied a key for every door and lock in my house," Sakura unlocked her door and slipped off her slippers, which were considerably more wore than when she first got them from branch and roof jumping, she'd have to ask her mother for a new pair, and headed to her room to assist Ino in picking what items her best friend would steal.
"I can't go through you stuff when you disappear without a word. What if you were dead? How disrespectful would that be?"
"And yet, taking my stuff when I'm alive is just fine?" Sakura arched a brow at Ino, incredulous at her logic.
"Well duh, what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine because I taught you everything you know about be fashionable and chic so you owe me. I think I'll take payment in the form of this pair of heels since no of your clothes do justice to my bombshell figure." She slipped a pair of classic strappy heels off the shelf and sat down on the vanity chair while Sakura collapsed on the bed. "But seriously, where the heck have you been, girl? Do you know what holding in gossip does to the body? It's toxic. And kami knows Hinata and Tenten are terrible as gossiping."
"If I tell you what's going on, do you promise not tell anybody? I want to handle this on my own terms, and I know you can keep a secret, if you actually want to." After Ino swore on her grave to be held to secrecy, Sakura began the long disclosure of why she had suddenly disappeared.
"Well damn, girl. Anytime you want to donate to the Ino Fund, your royal self can feel free to go right ahead. But if you're reinstated in the line of succession and are an ambassador for this place, that means after the festival you won't be coming back?"
"Afraid so, Ino," the blonde's mood dropped at this, Sakura could see it in her posture and face, "but I'm sure my father will assign me to monitor relations with the Leaf, so I'll be around often enough."
"Ok, I guess, as long as you promise to actually tell me when you're coming and going from now on. Now come on and get your boots on, the boys invited everybody to watch fireworks in a field, or are you too undercover for now to enjoy some fun with your old friends?" Ino teased as she dragged her friend down the stairs and pushed her out of the doorway before she had a chance to pull both shoes on.
x - x - x
"Damn it, Kiba, that hit my eye!" Naruto was clutching the left side of his face as the Inuzuka roared with laughter and lit more small rockets.
"Relax, your face can't get any uglier," Sai said absentmindedly while lighting a sparkler. He had done a good job of getting the word out, in addition to Lee, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Gaara; Tenten, Hinata, Shino, Konohamaru, Temari, and Kankuro all showed up as well. He distinctly remembered inviting Ino as well, knowing it would be the perfect event to comment on how the darkness hid her disfigured form, but as he did not see her in attendance, he supposed the diva was off somewhere trying too hard to catch a bachelor's attention.
Chouji strolled over to the cart that held all the fireworks Naruto had acquired, far more types than a civilian store would have had, and reached for the largest one. It was the size of a barrel and had several warnings stamped on the exterior. "Hey guys! How about this one next?" After a little bit of convincing on Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Konohamaru's part, everyone agreed to set the behemoth off. Konohamaru was chosen as the one who would light it, behind smaller, lighter, and therefore a bit faster then everyone else while running and once everyone was a good distance away he set fire to the wick and hightailed out of the area. The boom of the firework was so intense it shook the ground and made them lose their footing.
"Oh my god," a voice from further away sounded out, "what is wrong with you guys? Are you trying to give people a headache?" Ino stumbled up a small hill while holding her head between her hands.
From farther behind the blonde, another woman's voice called out: "you shouldn't be surprised, you do realize which people had the idea to set off fireworks in the first place, right?"
Almost everyone in the group snapped their heads in the direction of the voice; it had not been heard in the village for a very long time.