Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
I like listening to Kokia when I write.
xOxOx First Meeting xOxOx
Confused, surprised, mesmerised.
The longing of his heart;
Misses her dearly.
[1]
Naruto opened his cerulean eyes to a mass of matching sky blue infinities. He was floating in the air before he noticed that there was nothing to hold his weight. He realised in shocked affirmation that he was free falling to whatever hard surface that lied before him. This was it, the end of Naruto; very soon he would be able to meet his dead wife.
He closed his eyes and remembered the first day he had met her.
/Flashback/
Naruto's best friend asked him for a favour, a request to free his father from felony. His father had committed the worst crime, treason; he was caught plotting an attack with an enemy country to seize the kingdom. Although the prince had begged the King for the mercy of his friend's father, his pleas were futile. The traitor was given a death sentence and he would be executed before the citizens as a message to all people who opposed the King.
He was slapped across his face for even asking.
His cheerful azure eyes lost its glow and became opaque with tears.
When he shook his head towards his friend, Naruto's heart broke at his friend's words.
"You are not my friend; I have never wanted to be your friend! I hate you!"
As he walked towards his other group of friends in the play room with his teary eyes, they all backed away in fright. They have all heard from his best friend that if anyone displeased Naruto, their father would be executed too. It was a lie, but his friend was too angry and upset to worry about the consequences of his words.
No one came to wipe his tears; no one came to comfort his shattered young heart. They all looked at him with equally teary terrified eyes. Naruto realised his position as a prince for the first time in his five years of life, the power his family had over its citizen's. Naruto looked at the other children for one last time before he ran, tears fluttered in the middle of the air for a minute second.
He wanted to run away from it all. He wanted to be a normal child with friends.
He didn't want a King to be his father. He didn't want to be blamed for the death of his friend's father.
The young kid ran for hours until he reached the mellow green pastures of the countryside. The mass of emerald gave him a calming effect and he became too tired to run. He collapsed to the soft grass beneath him. When he woke up it was already dusk but he felt a warm presence hugging his small body.
He was very surprised to find a pink haired girl with shoulder length hair. She had a red ribbon tied on top of her bangs to form a bow. She was sleeping soundlessly like a kitten with her arm across his body. She had a very pretty round face and Naruto had a sudden urge to place his hand to touch her soft hair. As soon as he patted the silky textures of her tresses, her big green eyes opened and she sat up.
"What! Its dinner time. Mummy and Daddy is going to be angry," Sakura cried before she noticed the blond kid was still lying next to her.
"HUH! Why are you still here? Aren't you afraid that your parents will be angry at you too?"
"He won't care," Naruto replied and stroked his face at the area his father had previously slapped him.
"Why were you hugging onto me anyways?" Naruto asked curiously.
"That was- It was because you were crying in your sleep. Is everything ok? Are you hurt?" She asked.
"I'm fine," he responded not wishing to talk further about his day.
"But your eyes are swollen, something really bad must have happened!" She stated affirmatively.
"My friend said he hated me," Naruto blurted out of nowhere.
"Why does he hate you?"
"Because my father-" Naruto was about to tell her the reason but realised this girl did not know that he was the prince of this country. He said angrily instead, "He just hates me."
"You don't have to be so angry. I can be your new friend if you like."
"Really? Prove it."
"Firstly you have to stick out your pinkie finger like this and then we will link fingers." Sakura declared and shook Naruto's pinkie with hers.
A pinkie promise.
"I, Sakura Haruno, promise to be your friend forever."
"Forever?" Naruto asked surprised.
Sakura nodded and added, "Forever no matter what."
/End Flashback/
Naruto's blue eyes opened automatically, he didn't want to die, not yet. He needed to find her, even if it was just her body. He wanted to be next to her. Naruto turned his neck to study the outlook below him, it was a mass of dark blue, he realised it was the ocean and perhaps he still had a chance to make it alive.
He changed his lying position to one of standing; he quickly performed some hand signals and applied chakra to his feet to break his fall. He hoped that his spell activation codes still applied to him no matter which world he had entered. To his relief he felt the surge of energy running towards his feet making them stronger. A swirling sphere of wind mass developed from his hands, he was going to apply the remainder of his chakra to create a giant rasengan.
Once closer to the sea's surface, he shot the giant mass of swirly cloudy blue towards the water. His rasengan was spinning on top of the thick ocean layer but after a few seconds it managed to pierce a hole into the water, an opening big enough for Naruto's body to fall into. He closed his eyes once more and waited for his destiny, if he died now, at least he tried.
Naruto could feel the slicing cold numbness of the water as he entered inside the ocean. For a moment he had blanked out from the impact and when he had regained consciousness he was a few hundred meters below the water surface. His body was programmed to do one thing and that was to swim as hard and as fast as he could before he ran out of air.
XXXX
~The Majestic~
The Majestic was an old but elegant ship, made entirely of the finest wood from Paradise Island. It stood high and proud as it cruised past the gentle waves of the sea. This piece of fine architect was the only inheritance Sakura had received from her father and the vessel was her most cherished possession. The sea was like her home and the crew members were as close to her as family.
She was the Captain of the Majestic.
She loved sailing across the sea and transporting goods from the Island to its nearby country, Konoha. She and the crew members earned a living through trading; there was only so much the island could offer. One thing she loved the most in Konoha was the markets, it was a lively and crowded place filled with many exotic items for sale.
There were plenty of fruits and exotic sea ornaments that could be harvested from the enchanting and beautiful island. Paradise Island was rumoured to be a magical placed filled with many ancient artefacts and treasures that has yet to be discovered. The inhabitants lived in harmony amongst each other and the Elders were a group of wise and respected people. They were known for their shaman abilities and there was also a myth about faeries living on the island.
The Majestic was on its way to Konoha and the weather was calm and pleasant.
Sakura and her best friend Ino lazed about on the crow's nest of the Majestic; the young blond haired girl borrowed her friend's shoulder to rest her head. It was a lovely day. Sakura breathed in the beautiful sea breeze and started singing. She was a talented singer and many times some random scouts have asked her to become a professional singer in Konoha, but she had always refused.
She enjoyed the freedom of travelling on her boat and she was too attached to Paradise Island to live anywhere else.
.
As I look up, I could only see your shadow.
I felt my heart hurt.
I was afraid of following you.
When I looked again, you were gone.
Please don't leave me; I don't want to be alone.
.
"You have a beautiful voice Sakura, are you in love?" Ino asked out of the blue.
"Of course not Ino!" Sakura replied and blushed.
"Tell me who is it? Is it someone on this ship? Is it Shikamaru? Is it someone I know?" Ino insisted with her questions.
"It's nobody," Sakura looked away while her cheeks changed to a deeper shade of red. Sakura tried to change the subject and declared. "I know you like Shikamaru; I can see the way you look at him. I know he likes you too, why don't you two go out with each other already?"
"I do not, I repeat do n-o-t like Shikamaru." Ino responded with matching flushed red cheeks.
"Yes you do. Don't lie Ino." Sakura teased.
"Let's stop this conversation now. I'm going to take a look out for land."
Unbeknownst to the girls they would be crossing paths with a stranger.
Ino decided to check her telescope to see if they were approaching land, there was only a long stretch of blue. The blond woman with her long braids decided to spot some seagulls to past the time. To her amazement, rather than birds, her telescope caught sight of what appeared to be a man floating in mid air. The man was falling directly in front of their ship, Ino panicked; if the man was to fall onto their ship a huge hole would be created.
Ino prayed the man would fall elsewhere.
"Sakura there's a man falling from directly above."
"A what? That's impossible Ino," Sakura stated.
Ino chucked the telescope to Sakura to check for herself, she cut a piece of rope with her knife and glided towards the front of the bow of the ship. She shouted towards the pilot of the vessel, a white haired man with a mask across his face was controlling the steering wheels.
"KAKASHI, STEER THE SHIP TO THE RIGHT, IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" Ino shouted.
Kakashi had never heard Ino in such an alarmed state; he believed that the situation was indeed an emergency so he sailed to the right. Kakashi ordered the workers to change the direction of the sails so that the instruction could be carried out immediately. The ship began to turn and sail sharply towards the right; it turned just in time as everyone noticed the man in the air.
There was indeed a man in the air and he seemed to be holding some sort of weapon in his hands.
A razor like tornado sphere, it looked lethal, everyone was startled.
The ship crew prayed and waited for the impact.
The twirling mass missed the ship by a few meters but the aftermaths of the surge of water shocked and splashed over the vessel. The ship rocked side to side but luckily it was magnificently engineered to sustain rough seas. The crew watched as a blond haired man fell into the sea below, it looked like the water opened up to eat him, and the sea became calm within a few seconds.
"Someone save the man!" Ino shouted and pointed to the person closest to her, "Shikamaru, I know you are a great swimmer."
"Huh? How troublesome. I don't want to." Shikamaru replied.
There dispute stopped instantly as they watched a pink haired girl jump off the ship and her head began diving down into the water. The crew members shouted in alarm as their captain went overboard. Ino cursed under her breath, she knew her friend wasn't a very strong swimmer. Yet, their boat was sailing further and further away as it turned. Ino jumped off the ship to swim after her friend, she hoped her friend wouldn't drown along with the airborne man.
"Women, I can never understand them," Shikamaru muttered before he too jumped off towards the direction of where the man had fallen. He really couldn't understand why they needed to save a man that had no relation to them.
XXXX
Naruto had quickly casted his coat to reduce the weight dragging him down. He tossed off his sandals and kicked furiously, his arms also straddled feverishly amongst the water to push himself upwards. He was a strong swimmer but there was only so much time he could hold his breath. He had used up all his chakra to cut the water hence he didn't have enough to slow the oxygen from escaping his lungs.
He could see the glistening rays of sun that seeped through the thick blue layer, he was so close, yet so far as his oxygen deprived body began to shut down. His lungs felt as if they would burst from the pressure, there was no more to sustain the rest of his journey upwards. He would have to say goodbye to this world, except in the corner of his blue eyes he saw a fluttery pink blur before they closed shut.
Sakura wasn't a very strong swimmer but the height from where she jumped off the ship had given her 20 to 30 meters head start. She didn't know why she went after the man, but a feeling in her heart told her to do so. From the moment the man fell into the water so too did Sakura jump from the mask of the ship. It was too late to contemplate her actions as she was already determined to look for the blond haired man. A burst of courage made her kick her legs furiously towards the depths of the ocean.
It was easy to spot Naruto as Sakura had jumped simultaneously after him, his golden blond spikes also reflected amongst the blue to pinpoint his location. She watched in amazement at how quickly he was trying to swim up towards the ocean. Perhaps he could even make it without her help, or not, as she noticed his movements slowing and eventually he stopped moving. Sakura dived a few more meters to grab onto the man, she held his body to prevent him from washing away.
He was about to go into unconsciousness and his lungs would soon start to fill up with sea water. Sakura had never kissed anyone before; she had never given CPR either but her mind told her to give the man a breath of life. She forced her lips tightly to the man's mouth and squeezed his jaws so that she could blow some air into his lungs. Feeling the new air in his lungs, Naruto opened his eyes to suck a bit more of the oxygen from wherever it was coming from.
It was her; it was the face of his dead wife.
Sakura was alive and well again but maybe not for long.
Naruto watched as her beautiful green eyes closed before him, having just given her last bit to him she was running out of air. He couldn't believe that he would be waking up to the image of his wife dying before him once again. He grabbed her body and kicked towards the surface furiously, he was only a bit more than 60 meters away. He performed a seal with one hand and sent a small rasengan to thrust their bodies upwards. He desperately wanted to reach the surface.
His body was depleted from chakra but seeing Sakura again gave him hope and a reason to fight for their lives. He sent another rasengan towards the bottom and at last he and Sakura reached the surface of the sea. Luckily he was very close to the ship, he noticed a life ring and grabbed onto it. A crew member spotted the man with their captain; hence he and some other crew members pulled them quickly aboard the ship.
XXXX
Meanwhile while Ino was trying to swim towards the spot her friend had just dived from meters above her head, her muscles tightened. Ino had not exercised for a while and the sudden use of her calves made her buckle. She felt a sharp pain in her thighs and realised she was suffering from a lactic acid shot. Her arms flailed as she struggled to stay afloat, after a few moments, her head sunk down.
A strong pair of arms grabbed around her body and lifted her up. Ino sighed in relief as it was Shikamaru trying to save her. One of his arms wrapped around her waist while his other paddled profusely towards the ship. Ino realised his hand was grabbing the side of one of her breasts and she became very agitated. Ino felt for sure that he did it on purpose!
"Stop moving around, you're very heavy!" Shikamaru shouted.
"Stop touching my breast first." Ino screeched back.
"I can't help it; your breasts are too big."
"Let go of me, let go of me."
"Fine," Shika stated and let go.
Ino's cramps was still there and she realised she needed Shikamaru. He was trying to swim away and just leave the bothersome woman to her own misery. Ino grabbed at his pants to keep him from swimming away. It wasn't her day to die and she didn't want to end up drowning just because a man fell from the sky. Ino tugged the pants furiously to support her weight.
"Stop it Ino! My pants will come off!" Shika cried.
Ino managed to jump on top of Shikamaru's back and wrap her legs tightly around his upper body. Her arms grabbed his neck in a tight hold and her breasts were pressed firmly onto his back. Now was not the time to think about her breasts, her life was on the line, she would just have to deal with Shikamaru once they were back on the ship.
"You're choking me, I can't breathe!"
Ino loosened her grip on his neck.
"God, you're really heavy, I hope you lose some weight after this."
Ino fastened her grip on his neck and pulled onto Shikamaru's pineapple spikes.
"What did you say?"
"I'm saying you're fat, Ino-pig!" Shikamaru answered and grabbed for the red and white ring.
Phew! They were safe, for a moment Shikamaru thought he would drown from Ino's weight. He would never admit to Ino that she possessed a lovely pair of breasts and that he would love to fondle and play with them. He would also never tell her how much he loved her until he felt that she liked him the same way.
"This is my ring, go get yourself another!" Ino shouted.
"There's perfectly enough room to share. This is not the way to treat the person who just saved you."
"I don't care!"
"Hey look there's Sakura and the blond haired man," Shikamaru pointed and grabbed the other side of the ring when Ino wasn't looking.
Ino noticed that Sakura and the man had indeed surfaced and was currently being pulled up by the crew members. She could see that Sakura was unconscious as the blond man was carrying her with one arm while the other clung onto the life ring. Ino prayed that Sakura was alright.
Very soon some crew members noticed Ino and Shikamaru and came to their rescue as well. The two continued shoving and thrashing at each other, they each thought the life ring belonged to themselves. Once they reached the top they saw Sakura laying lifelessly on the deck of the ship, the blond man was trying very hard to resuscitate her. Ino was shocked that her friend had died to save the man.
Ino dropped to her knees and watched silently with tears falling down her face.
Shikamaru sat next to Ino and placed an arm around her to comfort her; she hugged onto his wet body for support. Her breasts were crushing the side of his rib cage but it felt nice and soft in a good way. She continued sobbing on his shoulder.
"Please don't let her die."
TBC
