trying a slightly different style, influenced a lot by the fics I've been reading lately.
Summer for Team 7 had fallen into comfortable routine. Each morning the team members arose, conducted their morning rituals (Naruto slurping down his breakfast medley of instant ramen and expired milk, Sakura preening briefly before the mirror, Sasuke rolling his lunchtime rice-balls), and met at the bridge at 7 am (or in Kakashi's case around 8:45; 8:30 if he was feeling kind).
After the customary shouts of "YOU'RE LATE!" that left Kakashi's ears ringing for a good minute, followed by whatever outlandish excuse he managed to fabricate that morning, Kakashi and the team squabbled their way to the training grounds. They trained through the morning until noon, taking a short lunch break at which Naruto would plop down contentedly beside Sakura, who merely deigned him an exasperated (but secretly fond) look before inching closer towards Sasuke. Training resumed until around 6 pm, at which Kakashi would dismiss them with a wave of his hand and a nod of his head as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, already immersed in the latest edition of Icha Icha Paradise.
Naruto would let out a loud whoop of glee as he charged towards the ramen stand, shouting for Sakura-chan to join him. Before, Sakura would merely "humph" and turn to Sasuke-kun, inquiring if he would please like to walk her home this evening; but she'd gotten over that phase by now, and increasingly often would accompany Naruto to Ichiraku. Surprisingly enough, Sasuke began to attend these get-togethers, though grudgingly – mumbling something along the lines of running out of tomatoes at home.
Today's training had run later then usual, as Kakashi had introduced a new jutsu and both Sasuke and Naruto were determined to master it by the end of the day, preferably before the other. Of course, neither could, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be stubborn boys and try anyways (or die in the process, snorted Inner Sakura).
And Sakura certainly wouldn't be shown up by the boys again – she was done with that era of her life. One day the boys would be looking at her back, she swore, and Inner Sakura enthusiastically agreed.
So by the end of the day, the three lay sprawled and sweaty in an area of the training grounds that receded into a large field of soft grass. All three were beaming and exhausted (though Sasuke's expression was more of a pleased scowl). Naruto sighed loudly, hands crossed behind his head in a cushion.
Sakura stared up at the sky as dusk began to fall. She could see traces of stars beginning to glimmer in the distance; they really had trained hard today. Her muscles were sore and she ached all over, but there was a smile tugging at her lips as a feeling of calm settled over the team. It was an unnamed feeling that reminded Sakura faintly of returning home after a long and weary journey.
The dusky orange of the setting sun set a bright cast on their faces. Sakura turned to look at Naruto, who was grinning so broadly that his eyes squinted up; and he looked so much like a whiskered fox that she couldn't help the little smile that uncurled on her lips. Sasuke was to her left, dark bangs partially obscuring his eyes; but she could see a little glimpse of the black and caught a picture of soul reflected there.
She could feel Kakashi's calm and strangely comforting presence somewhere behind them.
Her eyes fluttered close and she let out a small sigh. Moments like these were rare; between all the fighting and stupid testosterone-driven rivalry, tears, regrets, fear, rejected feelings, these quiet instances of contentment were far and wide in between.
And there was a sadness as she realized that that was all they were; instances, moments, snapshots. There for a breath and gone the next. She couldn't hold them in her hand, keep them from floating away. Even her heart was a temporary box.
Something queasy squeezed her gut and she curled a little into herself, screwing her eyes shut. When would be the next time they'd enjoy this kind of moment, this peace together? Would there even be another…?
She couldn't be sure. With Sasuke's unquenchable thirst for revenge and Naruto's implausible (but growing less implausible by the day) aspiration to become Hokage, would there ever be room for this kind of rest? While they were chasing dreams in the distance, what was she chasing after?
Her hands gripped tighter as she fisted the grass.
Her lips cracked open as she spoke, hesitantly. "Doesn't….doesn't this make you a little sad?"
Naruto's eyes opened when he realized the question was directed at him, and Sakura was momentarily shocked by the remarkable shade of blue they were, glazed with burning orange. He blinked, confusion apparent. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan? This is really nice…"
She swallowed the unexpected lump that had formed in her throat.
"Well yeah, it is …but I mean…" she bit the bottom of her lip. "That's what makes it so sad...because...you know it's not going to last forever. And I—I don't even know—"
I don't even know if you'll be by my side the next time I look.
But she didn't say that. Words she spoke aloud often became curses.
Naruto turned back to look at the sky. "…if there will be another?" he finished, softly.
Sakura was a bit shocked. She hadn't expected Naruto to understand her thoughts so well, given the fact that he was a social retard on so many levels. But, she supposed, as she evaluated him out of the corner of her eye, he really was full of surprises. Full of life.
She let a bittersweet smile play on her lips and closed her eyes again. There was another silence that fell over them and she tried to drink it in—but again, there was the persistent nagging that this would be just another loss. She couldn't keep this peace, and even now the moment was drowned out by the buttery sickness in her stomach.
"Well, you know," Naruto said suddenly, causing Sakura to open her eyes. She knew that Sasuke was listening as well from his slight movement. Naruto shifted around in the grass and found a more comfortable position. "I get what you're saying. I feel that way, too, sometimes."
Her brow creased, but she didn't speak.
"But when I think about it, it's kinda like ramen."
Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned. "Naruto, I was trying to have a slightly serious—"
"Wait, Sakura-chan, lemme finish. It's like—you know, ramen's so good and all."
Sakura sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but held her tongue.
"And it's like, every time I eat it, I wonder if it'll be just as good the next time. Like, what happens if next time the old man puts in some weird spice and tries to poison me or something. Or what if it just doesn't taste good. There's so many things that could go wrong. Sometimes it gets me thinking while I'm eating."
His brow was slightly scrunched as he tried to communicate his feelings.
"Like, the next bowl's never gonna be exactly the same as the one before. Each time it will be a little bit different, so you don't know what to expect. It's kind of like now is a bowl of ramen."
A small smile broke out.
"You're just thinking like me, Sakura-chan, worrying about the future."
A pause as a bird cried in the distance, black and small and winging on the setting horizon.
"But then, after a while, I realized there's no use in doing that. Because if you keep worrying about if next time will taste just as good, then how are you going to enjoy how good this bowl of ramen tastes right now, you know? Cause when you think too much, it sorta ruins the taste…"
Sasuke snorted softly.
Sakura's sudden smile broke into clear laughter. Naruto looked at her wide-eyed, as it rang about the clearing, setting a flock of birds into the sky. She laughed at his puzzled expression even more, laughing until there were tiny precious tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
She looked at Naruto, the smile reaching wide across her face.
"Er…is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" he asked hesitantly, scratching the back of his head.
She laughed more and shook her head.
"Nope, nothing's wrong. You're just incredible, Naruto."
The smile remained on her lips as she stared out to the sky again, her green eyes clear and unclouded.
Naruto glowed at her praise. "That's right! Finally, my Sakura-chan's come to acknowledge my amazing-ness! I'm so happy!"
Sasuke let out another snort. "Dobe, you're ridiculous."
Naruto shot into an upright position. "What was that, Sasuke-teme?! You wanna say that again?!"
"I said, you're ridiculous."
"Why I oughta--!!"
Sakura giggled as Naruto leapt up to pounce on Sasuke. Kakashi suddenly shut the orange book and appeared before them.
"Now, now, children, let's settle down. We've already all been working hard today, so we shouldn't waste our energy on these little quarrels…And really, aren't we getting a bit old for this?"
"Shut up, Kakashi-sensei!! You didn't even hard word today! And besides, did you hear what Sasuke-teme said to me?!?"
"Hn," replied Sasuke as he successfully evaded one of Naruto's wildly thrashing arms.
"Don't 'hn' me, you bastard!!!" screeched Naruto, preparing to launch himself at the Uchiha. Kakashi sighed and placed a hand on Naruto's unruly spikes.
"Why don't we all go and enjoy a nice bowl of ramen?" suggested Kakashi. Naruto immediately focused his attention on Kakashi.
"YEAH!! Let's GO!! Your treat, Kakashi-sensei!!!"
With that, Naruto sped off in the direction of the ramen stand, leaving behind a trail of dust. Sasuke rolled his eyes and began to walk coolly after.
Sakura was still smiling widely as she watched the scene unfold. Kakashi turned to her, offering a hand to pull her up. She took it and stood, wiping a few blades of grass off the front of her dress.
"Boys," he sighed, gracing her with a crinkly-eyed smile. "Well, at least I have one reasonable, female student."
Sakura punched him lightly in the arm. "Right, Kakashi-sensei."
"Though, you know," Kakashi said, as he began to leisurely follow the two boys. "Naruto can be right sometimes."
Sakura stood, watching the figures of her teammates before her. The three of them walking towards the sunset, towards another horizon, towards another dream. She ran to catch up with Kakashi.
She'd be there to share those moments with them. She'd make sure of it.
-
Ahahah...incredibly sappy...setting suns and all. But I think this piece was more structured than most of my others, because I actually had a faint notion of what I wanted to say XD