"He's Left You Alone Again, Sakura-chan."
Part 3
by operadeglace
Four in the morning was an odd time for anyone to be out in the cold streets of Konoha.
There was an absence of sounds that one was accustomed to in the daytime such as those of bustling crowds and the noise of their activities and daily routines.
The sky was still dark with the light of the moon piercing the sky in the distance.
Naruto shivered slightly as the cold morning air gripped his skin, causing him to dig his hands further into his pockets.
As he walked, he could see his breath form in front of him in swirling clouds that dissipated as quickly as they were made.
Although he was freezing, he walking pace was slow and methodical.
This customary morning walk that ended his day of work as the village's Hokage was his time to think… and time to dream…
Sakura-chan.
She was the most prized treasure in his memory bank.
It was no wonder the walk from his office to his home took a slight detour that took him past the Uchiha home, a large penthouse apartment near the base of Hokage mountain.
He could distinctly remember the first night he made that certain route, the morning of the day he was first made Hokage.
While strolling quickly, albeit tiredly, back to his home, Naruto had suddenly felt the urge to visit his father's likeness sculpted upon the mountain.
"Father… I did it. I'm finally Hokage, like you!" The young Hokage smiles sadly at the face on the mountain.
There was scaffolding and a tarp that was set up a few faces away from his father's face where the preparations were being made for his own countenance to be displayed alongside the previous venerated village leaders before him.
"That's going to be me… I still can't believe it." Naruto sighs, scratching his head.
"I don't know why I'm not satisfied with this…" He admits aloud, talking to his father's stone effigy.
"I have everything I have ever wanted and dreamed about…" He shoves his hands into his pockets in frustration.
"I'm a hero, everyone likes me."
He kicks a stone into the darkness with his foot.
"The whole village loves me."
His foot kicks another stone, almost missing.
"I have a family that I've always wanted."
Another stone flies off into the nearby bushes.
"I'm Hokage… I'm the Hokage."
He moves his foot to kick another stone near him, and misses, the action serving to frustrate him even more.
"There's something missing! What am I missing!?"
He growls angrily, punishing the stubborn little rock by kicking it so hard, it bounces down the all the flights of stairs that led to his view of the mountain.
Naruto's eyes narrow on the small stone, watching to land in the rays of a small light post near the foot of a familiar building. His eyes are guided upwards to the penthouse of the building where a warm, inviting light was emanating from within.
As if on cue, a beautiful angel walks out of the light and rests her arms on the balcony railing in front of her. The moon shone on her face, illuminating her highly discernible features to Naruto's eyes.
Sakura-chan…
His angel then put her face into her hands and wept.
Naruto's feet were suddenly moving on their own, drawing him to what his soul felt had been missing in his life.
What was missing was his true love.
In the present, Naruto's feet stopped in the light of the light post on the street beneath Sakura's apartment, and he looked up to see if there were signs of her still being awake.
No warm inviting light.
No door open letting him know she was waiting for him.
No Sakura-chan tonight.
Feeling a twinge of sadness tweak his heart, he turned and continued to walk slowly and thoughtfully back to his home.
He truly did love Uchiha Sakura.
The whiskered Hokage would have traded all that he owned, his dreams, his treasures, just to spend the rest of his life with his true love.
As he looked up to his own home, he was surprised to see the light on. It was a very warm, inviting light, and the door was open, as if someone was expecting him.
"Tadaima..?" He whispered tentatively, unsure as to why the light was on, and the door was unlocked…
He hoped Hinata had just forgotten, and was asleep. He didn't feel like talking in his sombre mood. He only wanted to get to sleep so maybe in his dreams he could be with his Sakura-chan…
"Naruto… what took you so long to come home?"
Says a gentle, tired female voice behind him.
His blue eyes cloud with moisture, and he starts to shake with joy.
"S-Sakura-chan…"
He had forgotten.
He was so tired and stressed at work, he had forgotten that the warm light and open door would now always be there for him…
"Naruto, you look exhausted." Naruto sighs happily as Sakura waddles towards him to embrace him in a gentle hug.
"You're freezing!" She exclaims as she holds him.
The Seventh wraps his arms protectively around his new wife, rubbing her rounded belly affectionately.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan… I would have been home earlier, but, Shikamaru had me stay and actually finish some of my work. I'm sorry to have kept you up all night…"
He kisses Sakura on the forehead that he still loved so much.
"It's alright… little Shinachiku has been keeping me up with all his kicking and punching of my internal organs…" Sakura winces as she smooths her hand over the front of her distended stomach.
"That's my boy! Already practicing ninjutsu in the womb!"
Naruto grins, scooping her up and kicking the door closed with his foot before setting her down on the couch to starting massaging her back.
"Ah… you're such an angel, Naruto, but you need to go to sleep to get some rest for tomorrow." His pregnant wife protests.
"I must be sleeping already… because this is what I wish to dream about, all of my life." He grins, earning a hug from her in return.
"You… are so sappy." Sakura giggles, allowing her husband to carry her into their bedroom.
As he prepared to go to bed, Naruto looked out of his window to the face of the fourth Hokage sculpted in the stone of the mountain and smiles.
-The End.
—Story by Opera de Glace