The Sky
by Hic Iacet Mori
Her Eyes that Saw the Dawn
She began a tradition the year after they left.
Once a year, curious passers-by would see a familiar pink-haired girl sitting on a white bench as she faced the sunset. With the way her apple-green eyes flickered and dimmed, they knew that her thoughts were far from where she sat—perhaps she was remembering a time gone by, perhaps she was remembering someone special, perhaps she was dreaming of a time yet to come, or perhaps she truly was waiting for someone—perhaps she was doing all these, but no one really knew for certain and no one had ventured to ask.
She only took a break from her thoughts when familiar white hands draped a shawl to cover her from the night chill, a familiar light-blonde hair in a high ponytail disappearing into the night. She would silently thank her friend before turning back to the stars, for knowing her physical need enough to stay around and understanding her emotional need enough to stay away. Because while she trained every day, harder and harder to ensure she got stronger, what she could really do was sit on this particular bench once a year and dream of a night that started and ended in a different way.
And she allowed herself to cry, on that particular night once a year, for what could have been and what could still be. She wept for her dream and wept for his dream, and she wept for her weakness that helped him succumb to his. She also wept for her wish and wept for his wish, and wept for her faith that fueled that promise of his.
(he existed for the past and he breathed for the future, and she lived in the present and prayed for a moment)
Most of all she wept, for their loss and their brokenness, and how they had to be apart for a chance to be whole.
Early risers would see a weary girl forcing herself up on that white bench, raising her arms as she greeted the sun and yelled words (shannaro!) of burning determination (dattebayo!). She would laugh for a moment as she wiped away her tears, and with nary a look back she would slowly take her leave. The night was over and the day had come—one boy had left and another would come back, and while she cried once a year as she waited for the former, she would laugh everyday as she waited for the latter.
The night held the tears that had no place in the morning. The blue sky held a promise and the sun would always come.
Six months after Naruto came back, Sakura's tradition changed.
She didn't know why he was there or how he knew she took to sitting on that bench on that particular day or if he really knew at all, but suddenly he was there and she never thought to question his presence. The sun was setting when he sank beside her, silent and unmoving as if he wasn't there at all. They hardly saw the sunset from where they sat, but they saw the full moon hovering on the trees and completing the night sky of Konoha. It looked so near but however close it appeared, she knew no one could reach out and actually touch it.
"Someday I will."
Sakura turned to her companion, surprised at his words and the mere fact that he broke the silence. "Will what?"
"Reach the moon," he answered with nonchalance. His eyes never left the night sky as he went on (his eyes always looked up). "It's not impossible, you know. Just with the right amount of determination." He turned to her, his blue eyes glowing (they never lose their light). "Just because everyone thought so doesn't make it so. That's not even enough to stop you from trying. When you try and fail, just try again."
(and he never stopped trying)
He leaned back and shrugged. "Sure, others would probably say you're stupid or crazy, trying to reach the moon, but it's between you and the moon and their opinions are worth shit. For all we know, the moon was just waiting for someone to reach it. I mean, come on, see how arrogant it looks down on everyone, the bitch. It only comes out at night so we had no choice but to look at it. It obviously wanted to be noticed. Attention whore can't live without it, I think."
Throughout her teammate's monologue, Sakura's wide eyes had softened (he always made sense somehow) until she dissolved into light laughter. Naruto threw her a smile of his own before returning his gaze to the moon.
"And it's probably lonely too, you know," he continued, softer. "Only one up there. 'S enough reason that someone at least try to reach it. 'Course, the moon doesn't get any nearer. Probably never will, but maybe there's a tree out there that's tall enough to reach it. If not, well... trees can live thousands of years, na?—and maybe then a tree can be tall enough to climb on.
"So... we just climb higher and higher until there's a tree high enough. We just never give up," he turned back to her, meeting her green eyes with his blue. "We just never give up, Sakura-chan."
(he never even gave up on her)
The sobs she had been forcing back with laughter finally broke through. She allowed herself to be protected from the night chill by strong arms wrapping around her, allowed herself to be comforted by the presence of the only other person who truly understood. Only he could understand what sitting on that bench on that particular night every year meant to her, for only he had a heart great enough to understand and only he had a heart great enough to be hurt and to forgive.
While Sakura cried for both of them, Naruto looked up the moon for all of them.
Her sobs slowly abated and she leaned back on his chest, feeling lighter than she had in years. She could feel the comforting rhythm of his heartbeat and the warmth of his even breathing, and for the first time in three years when that time comes, she felt safe enough to sleep.
Safe in the knowledge that when she woke up next morning, no other person important to her would have passed by the white bench and left her without a glance.
None of them ever mentioned what happened. They went on their usual merry way—training, doing missions, punching Naruto on Sakura's side, teasing Sakura on Naruto's side, and chasing after their teammate who had strayed a little too far from home. A lot of people had urged them to give up, and a lot of times they had been left for dead, but they still held on to a part of him that they believed was still there, the part that will always belong to Team Seven and to Konoha.
They continued the tradition they began the following year. No words were spoken between them on the morning of that day, but by the time the sun was setting, they were there on the bench, sitting side by side in contemplative silence until the moon hovered on the forest once more. As she did the past three years, Sakura allowed herself the tears she never shed on any other day of the year, and Naruto sat in silence with an arm around her shoulders.
"I think," Sakura said quietly, tear tracks still evident though her sobs had subsided, "the only thing good that happened after—after he left is that I'm not the girl I used to be." Her voice took a tone of nostalgia. "I hate who I was."
Beside her, Naruto shifted, looking at her. She tilted her head and looked back into contemplative eyes that were clear and blue.
"Don't."
Her eyebrows furrowed and Naruto gave a crooked smile. "Don't hate who you were. It's still a part of you. And it's the part that made you realize you needed to change. So... don't hate her.
"And—" Her green eyes were wide with surprise and tears were threatening to fall once more, Naruto raising a finger to scratch a tan cheek dusted in pink. "Anou... I like her."
A soft, sad smile made its way to her lips. "How could you like her? She's hardly nice to you."
Naruto smiled. "She wasn't afraid to show me what she thought of me."
There was that glow in his blue eyes again, the glow that Sakura especially loved in his eyes. She didn't know what that glow meant, but she knew it could only be equaled by a certain smile from him and a certain touch of his. Because Naruto, with his perversion and brashness and roughness and infuriating obstinacy and brightness, had the sweetest smile she had ever seen and the gentlest touch she had ever felt.
And while Naruto had more than his fair share of faults, Sakura loved all of him nonetheless.
I...do?
She felt warmth suffuse her body and tenderness stir in her heart. Her thoughts went back to the past years and how natural being around each other had become, and she mentally smacked herself for her inconceivable stupidity. Sakura knew that Naruto had become someone irreplaceable in her life—she just hadn't realized how much.
Until that night, when she wept for their brokenness for the last time.
Because Sakura knew there would be no more tears after this night. There would be no more tears over him, over whose name they never mentioned on this day of the year. Not because they didn't care anymore, not because they had given up, not because she didn't love that boy, man, anymore—but because Sakura had someone who loved her more than life itself, and someone she finally loved back with equal measure.
(because Naruto never did anything halfway and Sakura realized he had never liked her halfway even then and here, here was someone she couldn't be afraid to love just as much as she could)
Somewhere along the way they had grown up and grown together—his aggravating infatuation had mellowed into something more sincere, and her exasperated affection had deepened into something more profound. Because Naruto (clumsy, awkward Naruto with a mouth rivaled only by his heart) was her brother and Sakura (useless, selfish Sakura with a fist rivaled only by her spirit) was his sister, and it was a love pure and real only they could complete with each other. And while a part of her wished to love him—knew could love him—as a lover did, Sakura knew that it wouldn't be as genuine as what they already had.
(for what could be more real than the flawed perfection they already had?)
"I'm so stupid," Sakura murmured. Naruto gave her a sideways glance before snickering. "What?" she asked irritably. The idiot just really asked for it a lot.
"You're the smart one, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, grinning. "If you're stupid, that means I would be smart, na?"
She gave a little smile. "So you admit you're stupid."
"Hey, it's not like I don't know." He shrugged. "And I don't need to be so smart because you can be smart for the both of us anyway."
She closed her eyes, the small smile on her face. "You're not stupid, Naruto," she said softly, eyes still closed. "You just feel too much and don't think things through as much." A green eye opened wryly. "Kinda like me, except my big forehead makes sure I think too much first."
Naruto snorted. "Your forehead's not that big. 'Sides," he beamed at her. "Sai would be calling you Forehead instead of Ugly, na?"
Her fist rose and smacked him on the head. As Naruto whined, Sakura allowed herself a secret smile.
(just like what a true sister would do)
She yawned and Naruto immediately stopped whining. She allowed her eyes to droop close, and she felt him ease her slowly until she was lying on his lap. And there she felt it, that rare gentle touch that could lull her into sleep with a smile. She needn't stay up to greet the dawn, needn't wave her fists and laugh. Her morning was coaxing her to sleep, and he would wake her later to a brand new day.
And she would wake because the sun will be there.
"I swear it was an accident! Baa-chan forced the eggs on me and Kakashi-sensei thought it's funny if I add whipped cream and Kiba said Shino would kill me if I do anything to the bugs and I swear it's an accident!"
Sakura raised irate green eyes to her red-faced teammate. "What are you talking about?"
Naruto inched further away for good measure. "Uh. Nothing?" He flinched when the medic chuunin squeezed the log into splinters with her bare hand. "Sakura-chan?" he squeaked when she punched another innocent tree.
"THE IDIOT ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!" Sakura exploded.
His mind blanked out, and it needed a good shaking from the kunoichi before his mind started functioning again.
"... Lee?"
"Sai!"
"W-W-What!"
Another thrashing from Sakura revived his dying brain cells. Naruto's blue eyes widened as his eyebrow twitched. "Sai asked you to marry him?" he asked, words coming out higher than normal with each word, the last word rising into an admirable falsetto. His head mechanically swerved to the fuming girl's direction. "What did you say?"
"Of course I said no!" she screeched, soundly defeating his pitch.
Naruto tilted his head. "So why are you so upset? Is it because Sai has—" he almost choked before catching himself. "—feelings for you?"
He flinched again when burning green eyes swiveled to his direction. "Do you know what he said after I rejected his proposal?"
Naruto looked very, very afraid to breathe.
"He said—" Sakura paused, eyes narrowed into impossible slits as the infuriating smile flashed in her mind. "—He said "GOOD"!"
Naruto was waiting for her to continue, and only the growing hole under Sakura's impatiently tapping foot clued him in that she was waiting for him. He nervously raised a hand to scratch his nape.
"Anou sa... at least he didn't take it bad?" he asked as his eyes darted around, looking for the quickest escape route. Sakura noted what he was doing. She knew he could use Shunshin in this situation, but she would stop him if he started doing the hand seals.
And break his fingers for even thinking of doing it.
"Na. ru. to."
"Sa—S-S-Sakura-ch... ch-ch-chan?"
She forcefully closed her eyes and breathed deeply, counting to twenty. When she opened them again, there was resigned exasperation.
"Nothing, baka."
It's not his fault that he didn't understand how Sai's stupid response annoyed her. Or how it would piss off every girl who heard it. This person before her was, after all, a guy. And not just any guy, but the most clueless, densest guy to ever float the world.
Her eyes narrowed when she heard a sound. It was unmistakable in the afternoon silence.
Naruto was snorting.
And Sakura suddenly saw the humor in the situation and allowed herself a little smile. Naruto, seeing her reaction, decided to stop holding in his snickers and guffawed.
As the sun bathed the forest with the late afternoon glow, the sounds of laughter echoed within the verdant sanctuary. It was a few minutes before either could stop at all.
"Wonder where Sai read that from," Naruto asked aloud, catching his breath. "But now that you rejected him, he won't be Haruno Sai anymore. You stole his chance to have a surname!"
Sakura punched the most clueless, densest guy to ever float the world.
"Itai..." Naruto mumbled, rubbing his cheek. Sakura gave him a withering look and rolled her eyes.
"The idiot probably didn't even know what marry means."
Naruto turned to her with a speculative look. The shining mischief didn't fool her. "Hey Sakura-chan, how does Aburame Sakura sound like?"
She twitched as his smile widened. "Naruto."
"Nope. Too long. And you dislike bugs anyway," Naruto answered his own question, getting into his game. "Inuzuka Sakura? You can be a dog tamer!"
Against herself, Sakura found herself snickering along. Beside her, Naruto's eyes lit up at her obvious amusement.
"Hyuuga Sakura?" he asked mock-thoughtfully. She giggled while shaking her head. "Oh yeah, Tenten had some of Hyuuga playing in her hands already, and if Neji doesn't ask soon, she just might become Hyuuga Tenten but not because of him."
Sakura's mouth dropped open before she laughed. "Neji-san? Afraid of asking out Tenten-san?"
"Don't tell him or he'll kill me," Naruto said, grinning. "I saw him one time and he vowed me to secrecy. He was getting panicked because his uncle commented that some 'useless idiot Hatori' and 'weak talentless Homura' were talking about Tenten." He snickered. "She dropped by his place because he left his scroll after training and some of his kinsmen saw her. Then 'Hinata-sama' mentioned to him that 'sick bastard cousin Hotaru' was asking where Tenten likes to hang out. 'Hanabi-sama' also declared that she wanted her to be her weapons teacher."
"I didn't know that!" Sakura exclaimed, awed that Naruto knew more gossip than her. And about the stoic Hyuuga, no less.
He shrugged, a smirk on his face as he remembered his neighbor. "Tenten is as far as a Hyuuga can get. 'Course they'd be very, very interested," he said, a knowing gleam in his eyes. "And she has a nice ass. Not big up there but she has very long legs too. Like the showgirls Ero-sennin used to talk about."
"Naruto!"
"Sakura-chan," he whined, rubbing his sore head. "What's so bad about admiring the assets of people?"
"Stop being such a pervert," she admonished. "And Neji-san will kill you when he hears that!"
"He didn't kill me," he mumbled. "He just sent me to the hospital. That wussy bastard."
Sakura bit back a smile. So that was why he had been in a full-body cast a day before she left on a mission two months ago...
"Anyway!" Naruto said, brightening again. "How about Nara Sakura?" At the girl's eye-roll, he grinned. "Yeah, Temari. Akimichi Sakura?"
She shook her head. Ino was secretly very fond of Chouji, and something deeper might grow from there.
"Hatake Sakura?"
They looked at each other and shuddered. Sakura sometimes had a crush on their sensei depending on how cool he was being, but she disliked his mind games and his closet perversion. He went everywhere with his precious Icha Icha after all.
"How about becoming Sabaku no Sakura?" Naruto asked, snickering.
"Poetic but no, Naruto-baka," she said dryly. "There's a bigger chance that you'd end up together. I think Kazekage-sama has a crush on you," she teased. Sabaku no Naruto. She giggled. Fishcake of the desert? Or maelstrom of the desert?
He scoffed, smile sarcastic. "Right. Who can resist this awesome piece of meat?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Who else are we always around with?" He sat up straight and pumped a fist in the air. "Of course! Rock Sakura!"
She couldn't keep herself from laughing, more so when her friend nodded sagely. "Fits your scary punches, na? Plus there's the intimidating factor when you introduce yourself to enemy nin."Yosh! I'm Rock Sakura!" then you'd ram your fist down their throats with a wiggle of your fuzzy pink eyebrows, and tears would pour down from your shining green eyes of youth."
She shook her head, giggling. Naruto was now lying on his back, his hands propping his head up. "There's only one name that fits you, na, Sakura-chan." His face was turned up to the sky, his voice softer.
"Uchiha Sakura. It's perfect."
Sakura glanced down at him. His face was unreadable, his blue eyes shrouded. She leaned back, her palms supporting her weight.
"I've always wanted that," she murmured. Now I'm not so sure anymore, she continued silently.
"Why do people ever marry?"
She knew his question was serious so she answered in the same vein. It's one of those rare times that was starting to become more common between them. "Because they love each other enough to want to be together for as long as they live."
"But—" he turned to her, eyes blue and honest and confused that betrayed how little he truly understood, "—you don't only love one person, na? Should I marry Iruka-sensei? Or is it only when you're really, really, really possessive like Neji?"
Sakura forced back a horrified laughter, shaking her head gently as her thoughts turned inward to seek an answer he could understand. Something pulled deeper in her, attempting to remind her of something important she needed to tell him. "Of course we can love other people. But this person, you love this person enough that you want to create a new life together. That's why you marry. It's... it's a different kind of love. A bit possessive, but—different."
"Is that the love where you always want to be with this person? Because I always want to be with you, y'know."
In the growing darkness, Sakura's eyes were a soft green. "I always want to be with you too, Naruto."
"But Uzumaki Sakura doesn't sound as good," he murmured. It sounded bitter, dejected.
Alone.
"We don't have to get married to be with each other," she said gently. "We just have to make sure we're always there when we're needed. Or even when we're not."
Naruto nodded. "Then I don't have to choose between making Iruka-sensei Uzumaki Iruka, or Baa-chan Uzumaki Tsunade. Or making you Uzumaki Sakura or Sasuke Uzumaki Sasuke."
She stifled a smile. He could be so adorable sometimes. "No."
And if Naruto would look then, he would have seen how sad the smile in her eyes truly was.
He was clueless in these regards, Sakura knew (there were a lot of things he didn't truly understand). Affection, admiration, attraction, respect, love—he never had these in his early life, never had someone to not just explain them to him, but show him (can you describe the sky to someone born blind?). That's why Sakura cherished these simple moments (only them with no one around to force him to hide what he wanted to express and to feel). Given the chance, Naruto could be very tender, and it was a side he rarely showed to anyone. Deep down, she knew, he did it because he couldn't afford to have his affections rejected, now that he had felt it and wanted to show it. Not this time. Not again.
It could break him, this time, when he almost understood.
"But you know, Uzumaki Sakura doesn't sound so bad," she murmured, settling her head on his chest. Sakura smiled as his calloused fingers began to play with her hair. Naruto, with his hesitant, light touches, had the gentlest touch she had ever felt (how can someone so rough be so gentle, someone so certain be so unsure?). Her eyes were tugging down, the gentle motions of his hand making her drowsy.
"It's not an awful thing, belonging to you," she said sleepily as her eyes fluttered shut. His heartbeat was comforting, and so was his left arm that was supporting most of her weight (more than her shield and her strength, he was her comfort).
She didn't hear his question as she drifted off to sleep.
"Belonging to me?"
"Do you think of him a lot?" he asked out of the blue.
She raised her eyes to look at him. He was leaning on the open window of the hospital lobby, his upper body twisted to his side as his eyes viewed the late afternoon summer sky. The sun was beginning to set, and splashes of pink and purple had begun to paint itself on the canvas of bright yellow and orange. From where she sat, Sakura could see how bright yellow hair glowed a dark burnished gold, how laughing cobalt eyes shone a somber deep blue—and she wondered how and when Naruto had grown and changed into an achingly handsome young man.
Enough to make her catch her breath.
I just called Naruto handsome, she thought with disbelief. No, no, she mentally disagreed, smiling wryly. He's beyond handsome. She watched as shadow and light danced on his profile, the aura of loneliness pervading in his stance. Sakura had never seen him look so strangely melancholic and vulnerable before, so strangely changed yet unchanged at the same time.
In the complete silence of the dying afternoon, Sakura had an epiphany.
It wasn't he who changed.
It was her.
Naruto-baka is actually beautiful.
And she wondered (strong, he was unreachable). How many times had he been vulnerable at times when everyone thought him the strongest? It was such a strange thought (vulnerable, he was peerless). She had to ask herself why she never thought of it before.
How many times?
He was always so strong (mighty, he was untouchable). But was he strong because everyone expected him to be? Was he strong because everyone needed him to be?
I never asked him. Never asked if he was hurt. I never bothered because I always thought he was strong.
"Sakura-chan?"
(powerless, he was beautiful)
She blinked. Even now, he was looking at her with worry. Oh she knew how greedy Naruto can be, how possessive he sometimes was—she caught him a few times almost obsessively rearranging his meager worldly possessions in his apartment—but was he ever selfish where it counted? Selfish where it counted for him?
Naruto, you idiot. You—
Sakura shook her head.
You stupid, stupid, selfishly selfless stupid idiot.
"What? Aren't you—" Naruto swallowed and looked away. "Don't you love the bastard anymore?"
"I do," Sakura answered honestly. "I still do. And yes. I think of him," she ended in a whisper, "a lot."
"Sakura-chan..."
And she heard it, now that she was looking for it.
(his flaws were his secrets and his secrets made him beautiful).
"You think he's happy out there?"
The loneliness.
He hurt you a lot, didn't he—Naruto?
"I don't know."
He hurt me but it was nothing compared to how he hurt you.
"He'd be happier here if he'd just swallow his stupid pride and come back."
But you understand him, don't you? You understood him more than any of us did.
"Anyway, the old hag said I'm free to go!"
You always do.
Sakura shook her head. "Because you refuse to be confined, baka. Your arm's broken in three places and you shouldn't even be loitering."
"Sakura-chaaaaaan," he whined. "It's so boring inside! Everything's white and boring! It's so boring I'm bored to tears. I'm so bored I can't even share anything 'cept I'm bored!"
"Oh, Naruto," she sighed. She lifted her head up wearily, giving up the fight against begging, shining blue eyes. "Shishou already told me. I just thought you might change your mind."
"Yosh!" the blond cheered, seeing his victory. "Itai!" he exclaimed, the sudden movement of his left arm sending a jolt of pain to his already-healing right arm. He rubbed his nape sheepishly as the pink-haired medic glared at him.
"C'mon," Naruto cajoled, the setting sun behind him shadowing his face but not his smile. "The bakery might close if we don't hurry up."
(so painfully, achingly beautiful)
Sakura nodded with a small smile. "Wait here while I sign you out." She turned away and looked back when she heard a shout.
"The unsweetened cakes might be gone!"
Sakura narrowed her eyes playfully as Naruto grinned back. Shaking her head, she left him to look out to the dying light.
—that's why you can still smile, ne, Naruto?
"I'd hit that," Ino spoke up across from her. Sakura idly raised her eyes, sipping on her tea with indifference as she followed the blue gaze to someone passing outside.
"What did he do now?" Sakura sighed as a familiar orange and black blur weaved its way around the villagers. She inwardly cracked her knuckles, thinking of the possible atrocities his teammate had committed once more.
Ino gave her a strange look. "What are you talking about?"
"Naruto. You'd hit him, right?" As she repeated the other's words, understanding dawned on her. "Oh. Ohhhhh. Hit. Right."
Ino laughed. "You're too violent on him, you know? We've been on a couple of missions and past the nonexistent fashion sense and that idiotic grin, he's actually okay." She sipped on her own tea and went on. "And he's grown, eh? He's—" Ino tilted her head, as if thinking. "He's actually hot, even in that shapeless... thing."
"Don't tell me you have a crush on Naruto," Sakura teased. She laughed when Ino huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, before leaning forward and waggling her eyebrows.
"So what? It's just a crush, and blondes are always hot," Ino said, smirking. She frowned after some thought. "Even that sand girl who kept hanging around Shikamaru."
"Oooh, not sand shrew anymore?" Sakura asked slyly. "Or desert bitch?"
Ino shrugged before giving a sheepish smile. "She's actually okay. Plus the lazy ass moves a couple inches more when she's around. Anyway," she flipped her hair—Ino never outgrew the habit—and leaned closer to her friend, "you and Naruto. Are you two dating?"
Sakura gave her a flat stare. "Ino-buta."
"You two look cute together, and you two are closer now," the other girl argued. "And Naruto is hot and obviously crazy about you! But come to think of it—you're crazy about him too, eh, Sakura-chan?"
The medic chuunin sighed and leaned back on her chair. She raised her eyes, looking into her best friend's pale blue ones. "Ino. Naruto and I are like brothers and sisters. No, we are brothers and sisters." A tender smile bloomed in her lips. "It couldn't possibly get any better than that."
Ino studied her friend, noticing how her features had softened and her green eyes had lit up. It was rare to see Sakura like that, peaceful and content. And Ino was glad for her, because Sakura had finally realized that, in spite of her other teammate's disregard for her love, she was and always will be loved.
"Know what, Forehead? I think you're right," Ino said, leaning back on her own seat. She closed her eyes before opening it once more, serious. "If something happened to Naruto because of him, what would you do?"
Sakura's head snapped up to her best friend. There were no traces of teasing on her face, no shadow of humor in her eyes. She lowered her green eyes, her shoulders slumping along. "I hope nothing does, because he's the only one who could really hurt Naruto," she said softly. "For Naruto's sake, I hope nothing happens.
"I still love him, you know," Sakura said, laughing lightly. "I never really understood how I could fall for someone so... apathetic. But—" her voice hardened as she looked up again, eyes as cold as slivers of aquatic jade. "—if he does something to Naruto, I'll fucking hurt him and make him regret it."
Ino almost shivered at the lack of emotion in her best friend's voice. She almost never caught what Sakura said as her voice dropped lower.
"And I'll never forgive him, Ino. Never."
Months later and he had returned. But Sakura knew something was wrong—her eyes darted worriedly to Naruto, who hadn't woken up hours after he stepped inside the walls of Konoha with Sasuke on his back. It was Sai who carried both to the hospital while Sakura went ahead, alerting the Godaime and preparing the hospital for their arrival.
Outside, the sounds of war receded into an anticlimactic descendo, but none inside the emergency rooms where Naruto and Sasuke were breathed a relieved sigh. Both boys were in critical condition, the latter more so, and it was hours later before Sakura found herself inside Naruto's room.
She was waiting for blue eyes to flutter open and flash impishly, waiting for lips to form into a smile with a brilliance wrought only of contentment from completing a lifelong struggle. Waiting for hands to weave stories of war and victory and how the power of love and friendship brought their prodigal back. Waiting for him to tell her that he had finally made the promise of a lifetime into a reality.
Sakura was waiting.
But she couldn't make herself believe as dread further sank within her. When Naruto's eyes did open, she swallowed a gasp.
(lifeless blue eyes saw nothing but the visions in his mind)
"What happened?" she whispered. His blue eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, and Sakura leaned closer to him. "What happened, Naruto?"
His eyes closed before opening again, lips curved as he smiled. "Sakura-chan. The bastard's back."
(shadows had no right to settle in his eyes)
"What happened, Naruto?" Sakura asked urgently. "Tell me."
Her heart clenched painfully as she watched him blink, a tear—and another—sliding down a whiskered cheek. Cry on me, Naruto. You always let me cry on you.
She choked. Please.
(he shouldn't have fought to hide his tears)
He raised a hand and caught a tear that slid down her own. "It's okay, Sakura-chan," he assured, smiling as much as he could. He rubbed at his traitorous eye. "Sasuke's home. Just as it should be."
(he shouldn't have fought so hard to hide his scars)
And because he wouldn't, Sakura threw herself on his chest and cried for the both of them.
(he shouldn't have fought so hard at all)
"Shishou! Sasuke-kun wo—"
Sakura abruptly stopped, slowing down from her run until she stood before the smashed desk of the Hokage of Konoha. She saw a painfully white hand crumpling a piece of paper, saw strong shoulders heaving and powerful arms trembling. Blonde hair hung over her beautiful face, obscuring her features from the world. Sakura turned to her former sensei, who was looking outside the window with his infernal book nowhere in sight. Sakura didn't miss how his own hands shook at his side, how his shoulders were tensed and how he wouldn't show his one visible eye to anyone in the room.
"Shishou?" Sakura asked, uncertain.
Tsunade looked up. Her brown eyes were burning with all of the sorrow and fury she refused to let out.
"Naruto."
"Naruto!"
She ran faster as his steps continued, never breaking from its even pace. Sakura urged her tired legs faster until she was almost an arm's length from her teammate.
"Naruto!"
Frustrated, annoyed, angry, she raised a fist and punched him on the back of his head. He didn't even make a sound as he flew a few feet ahead of him, Sakura hot on his heels. Her green eyes flared when he stood up, dusted himself, and took a step.
"Don't you dare walk away from me, Uzumaki Naruto!"
(stay)
Naruto stopped. Sakura drew in a hopeful breath.
Then he took a step.
And another.
And another.
"Stop!"
(don't go)
But he wouldn't.
So she forced him to.
"Why, Naruto? Why?" she asked, crying on his back as her arms wound around his waist and forced him to still.
"I had to," he replied. "I had to."
"No!" Sakura shouted, her eyes squeezing shut as her arms around him tightened. "I'll never—I'll never forgive him!"
I rather lose him than—
"Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice was gentle, as gentle as the whispers of touches Sakura knew only he could ever possess, "Don't do that." He slowly turned around, forcing her arms to loosen a bit. "You and Kakashi-sensei are what he only has left. He belongs here."
She sobbed as the sunset glinted off the metal that covered his eyes, and she couldn't help but feel betrayed as the sun gradually disappeared to make way for the moon (it was their time, the sunset—it was supposed to be their time). She sobbed harder when tanned hands hovered in the air until finally landing on her cheeks, gently wiping the tears that insisted on falling.
"Sakura-chan, don't cry," Naruto said softly, tucking her under his chin. He rubbed her back her until her sobs subsided, and Sakura was left feeling emptier than she had ever been.
"Don't you care about me, Naruto? Don't I matter? Don't we?"
"You know how I feel."
"Then stay," Sakura whispered, her voice thick with her emotions.
"I have to go," Naruto whispered back, voice so low to hide the hoarseness he couldn't show. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I have to."
"Then promise you'd come back," she said. She looked up, desperate to see the blue eyes that always spoke of a promise. "You belong here, Naruto! You belong to me, to us! Promise you'd come back. I won't let you go if you don't promise you'll come back. Promise me!"
(please)
Naruto stepped away, a smile on his face. "I will."
Sakura rubbed her eyes tearfully and watched him walk away.
And when he was gone, she sat down on the white bench and waited for the dawn.
(maybe, maybe, their time is the dawn)
Come back.
Ten years later, Haruno Sakura got home from a mission as dawn broke over Konohagakure no Sato.
The words of the Godaime echoing in her mind, her heart raced with anticipation as she sought the brother who had left, her heart nearly bursting with joy when she sighted the familiar shade of gold that could only be his. Sakura didn't see the absence of orange or the presence of blue beside him—she only saw the sun she had waited to come back for many, many years.
As her white arms wrapped around his back, she finally allowed herself to cry for the first time in ten years.
It took you too long to climb down, you idiot.
"Sakura-chan..." she heard Naruto choke out, his voice coming in a ragged whisper of all the sorrow he could never hide from her anymore. "Sakura-chan."
"Naruto," she sobbed, feeling her heart break at the pain in his voice. "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto."
I'm stronger now. Stronger than years before.
Her arms tightened.
You can cry on me now.