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All credit belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. This written collection belongs to yours truly.
002: Phantasm
ファンタズム
Naruto sat cross-legged over the materials of his sleeping bag, beside him laying his master, who grumbled a snore once every twenty seconds.
He simply sat, listening to the silence of the nature around him; the crickets singing; the faint rustle of the branches; a howl or two in the distance. He twiddled his thumbs as he glanced down at his forehead protector, which now had a newly stitched sash under the silver plate—this one black rather than the misused blue from over a year ago.
He had been so angry with Jiraiya the day he noted that his headband was no longer on the cheap nightstand at one of the inns they had stopped by. After lying through his teeth and forcing him to calm himself down until the following week, Jiraiya returned the headband with an alienated sash, long and dark.
What the—what did you do to my headband? Ero-sennin—!
He had sounded so calm when he replied.
Calm yourself! The thing was nearly torn in two at the base of the plate. It needed some fixing. Here, I decided not to throw away the old fabrics.
Naruto sighed.
"Nosy, good-for-nothing lecher," he mumbled as he rustled into his pouch beside the sleeping bag. He felt at a miniature container before pulling it out onto his lap. "Hmph."
He opened it, revealing a basic medical kit. He stared at the rolls of bandages, the tools held together in a pouch, two tiny bottles of ointment, and all that he never bothered to use. His gazed moved to his knuckles, which were freshly sliced and bruised. Of course, they had already begun to heal, but they stung when his hand flexed.
His right reached into the container for the thinnest roll of bandaging, and he began winding the soft lining over his palm and knuckles. He smiled at his previous rashness when he had stormed further into the forest and began pounding at the tree bark out of anger.
It wasn't completely his fault; that headband meant the world to him. Iruka had given him; it was his first symbol as a graduated shinobi; it was what he wore along with Team Seven.
But it was battered and torn, and he could have very well lost it completely if it weren't for Jiraiya.
The medical kit clattered as he pushed it aside and levered his back onto his sleeping bag. With his hands resting atop of his stomach, he closed his eyes.
Honestly, Naruto.
Suddenly nature was no longer so silent. She was talking to him.
It's just a headband; you didn't have to go off and bruise yourself.
He would have replied with something like—Heh, I guess! But Sakura-chan, you do the same thing, only you cause more destruction with that massive strength of yours—if Jiraiya had not been right beside him.
"Shh," he whispered instead, "Sakura-chan . . . Ero-sennin is asleep. You'll wake him."
He could feel a familiar pinch in his skin, and a warmth over his bandaged cuts. Her fingers and her palms both rested over his hands, their touch causing the blood to rush to his cheeks. The sting began fading away. He smiled.
Look at you; you can't even bandage your wounds properly!
He was about to reply, but he stopped himself and enjoyed her touch instead.
Next time, don't worry,
she said moments later, this time her voice fading into a soft whisper. She was smiling; he could hear it. I'll sow it up for you, just like old times.
Naruto's eyes slowly creaked open, and they met with a faint jade starting down at them. His pace quickened, and he had the urge to spring back up to embrace her.
"Sakura-chan," he breathed, "you're really here . . . !"
And so he did.
His eyes stared wide at the shadows around him, and at the obscurities that lay before him. Jiraiya's snores still puttered, as well as the coo of an owl.
There was no Sakura.
He looked down at his hands, which still stung from Kami knows how long ago.
With his jaw left agape, he processed the reality. He fought back the nostalgia as he glanced back at the medical kit thrown beside him. The medical kit she had given him for his journey, just two months after her own training began.
Naruto plopped back onto the ground. His eyes closed once more, and he could still feel the warmth of her touch.
ファンタズム
Author's Note:
I apologize for my absence. This week happened to have been my testing week, thus I had hardly a minute to spare to write up my next chapter. However, it's now Saturday, and testing is over. I hope you enjoyed this light drabble—which takes place somewhere during Naruto's two year journey with Jiraiya : )
As previously mentioned, I enjoy reading your reviews. I thank those of you for your previous ones for 001 Allure, which were far too kind and kept me smiling.