Sweat trickled down Sakura's face, which was tense with concentration as she carefully directed the final surge of chakra into her patient. She waited. Nothing happened. Another failure – not the first, and probably not the last she would know of. She never expected it to be easy, but she was failing more spectacularly than she had anticipated.
She picked the fish off the table. All of a sudden, it flopped back to life in her hands. Nothing could wipe that grin off her face as she gently lowered the fish into the tank of water that had lain vacant for weeks.
She hurriedly strode to Tsunade-sama's office, hardly able to contain her excitement. She knocked, waited for the reply, and gradually pushed the door open.
"Didn't I tell you to concentrate on your healing technique until you can –" Hit by the sudden realization, Tsunade-sama stopped mid-sentence. She glanced at Sakura, and broke into a smile almost instantaneously. "You did it, didn't you? In a shorter time than I expected even. Good job!" Those were well-deserved words of praise that were rare. But even rarer was the grin on Sakura's face that followed, as she temporarily put aside the serious demeanour she usually donned in front of her master.
Motionless and speechless during the short exchange between master and disciple, Shizune-san, who had her eyes widened in surprise the whole time, finally sprang to life. In two long strides, she had closed the gap between her and Sakura, and only paused for a fraction of a second – just enough for Sakura to see her damp eyes and the relief in her smile – before she wrapped her in a tight hug.
Sakura had finally mastered that healing technique after many grueling hours of practice. According to Shizune-san, it was an important milestone, and an indication that she was on the threshold to many more advanced techniques. If she had not been able to cross that threshold, it meant that she lacked the talent, and Tsunade-sama would have ended her medical ninja training there and then. (To Sakura, that was all the more reason to be glad that she did it.) In any case, Shizune-san was so happy for her that she promised to treat both Sakura and Tsunade-sama to ramen. Speaking of ramen, it would have to be the most savoury ramen stall – which explained why they were at Ichiraku Ramen.
"Shizune, more sake!" Tsunade-sama started waving her cup around feverishly. Sakura had expected this; Tsunade-sama's love for sake is unparalleled, perhaps with the exception of Jiraiya-sama. Somewhere out there, Naruto might be facing the same situation she was now.
"Ok ok… We'll get more at home ok?" Shizune-san caught hold of Tsunade-sama's hand and wriggled the cup out of her grasp, gently placing it on the table, while thanking the chef. Thankfully, Shizune-san was here. Sakura never knew how to react to the drunken Tsunade-sama; she was so different from the strict and brilliant master she knew usually. Though, to be honest, she would probably never get used to it, not that she would ever want to. Shizune-san helped Tsunade-sama to her feet, and slowly walked her out. Sakura bowed, "See you tomorrow." Shizune-san smiled and gave a quick nod to Sakura.
As Sakura stepped out of the stall, she felt a sudden sense of déjà vu. She could almost imagine Naruto making a ruckus behind her, refusing to leave before his insatiable craving for ramen was quenched, and Kakashi-sensei's show of embarrassment at Naruto's proclamations about his stinginess. And of course… Sasuke-kun's nonchalance at all of that.
After stepping into the dimly lit streets, Sakura turned to look at the stall again.
Ichiraku Ramen. Possibly Naruto's favourite hangout in the village.
As she averted her eyes and prepared to leave, she noticed some faint markings at the very edge of the paper lantern that illuminated the entrance of Ichiraku Ramen. Could it be what she thought it was? But up till now, they have always been engravings… Despite feeling that it must be wishful thinking on her part, she took a quick look around before slowly moving forward to look at the suspicious markings.
Happy birthday! Ramen from Iruka-sensei tastes the best! Hehe!
This is surprisingly cheerful, and on a different note from the past distress calls. Deep down, she felt happy for the mysterious sender; it seemed like he was not alone anymore. He had found someone. Someone called Iruka-sensei – Iruka-sensei? Ramen? Ramen from Iruka-sensei?
Running through the previous messages… Ostracised, parents not being around? Everything clicked into place at that enlightening instant.
"It was Naruto." Without meaning to, she had verbalized the thought. She knew the messages were old. But never did she expect them to be that old. The first one was probably penned four or five years back, or more. She had been listening in to the thoughts of the younger Naruto – from the days when she did not know who he really was, or rather who he had chosen to portray himself as.
The previous messages flooded into her head all at once – even though she knew he probably did not enjoy a rosy childhood, but it had never occurred to her that it was that heart-wrenching… She was one of those that had ostracized him and left him alone. Even though they did indeed become nakama in the end, what she had done… was unforgiveable. Instead of being triumphant from what she found out, guilt seemed to well out of her from an unknown, unlimited source. As part of the brutally oblivious faceless mass… what had she done?
As a child, she had often seen gossiping mothers gathered at the gates of the Academy, warning their children not to play with Naruto – as if he had some contagious illness – even though he was in clear sight and could obviously hear them. What had they done?
What have we all done?
The damage was irreversible. She could not reverse time. All she could offer… was her friendship now, though she could not help but ruminate if she had even been a good enough nakama for him.
From Naruto's eyes, it was likely that she only had eyes for Sasuke-kun. And as much as she would like to deny it, it was the truth. Perhaps, she may still be guilty on this charge – even when Sasuke-kun left, she was still too busy trying to chase his distant receding figure, than to treasure the bonds she still shared with Naruto.
Naruto, when are you coming back?