Sakura hovers at the edge of the street, warring with herself.
It has been years since she last saw Namikaze Minato. She has travelled, protecting Konoha from afar. She managed to prevent the Kyuubi massacre and Konoha is flourishing now. Idle hands and a broken heart make for a very effective shinobi.
Sakura clenches her fist, knuckles white as she stares at the Hokage Mansion.
Minato is alive and well, the most celebrated of all Hokages thus far.
He is also married.
To Kushina.
Sakura exhales shakily, pushing her hair out of her face. This is what she wanted. Minato is alive and well and he has a family.
Naruto has a family.
Sakura has some sort of morbid, masochistic desire to see Minato, to make sure that he truly is satisfied with his life.
To see if she has been forgotten completely.
(Sakura wonders sometimes if Minato has seen a young pink haired civilian child running around Konoha. She wonders what will happen when she enrolls in the Academy. This is only sometimes.)
Sakura moves forward before she can take herself out of it again, gliding closer to the building. She can see the Anbu guards but they are no threat to her.
Sakura has long since learned how to move unseen.
She glances in the window, smiling bitterly at the sight within. Minato is with Kushina, laughing joyously as she twirls around him, drawing him into a dance of her own creation. Sakura's eyes quest over Minato's face, taking in the pure happiness there.
Sakura nods, swiping the hot tears that gather in her eyes angrily. She doesn't deserve to feel sad.
Konoha is thriving.
Minato is happy.
Naruto is alive.
Her mission is complete.
She rubs the heels of her hands against her eyes, darting away from the window. She is listless, rudderless. What is her purpose now? The other Sakura, this reality's Sakura, will grow up loved and cherished in an unbroken Konoha. Minato has a family and there is no room for Sakura anywhere.
"Nin-san!" a high voice chimes. "Nin-san!"
Sakura looks up, catching sight of a little blond haired boy leaning over the bannister of a balcony to watch her. He is all sunshine and light, bright, intelligent eyes and a face that has never seen hardship.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Or…Namikaze Naruto in this reality.
Sakura silently curses herself for letting her guard drop. She shouldn't be here. Still, she can't help herself.
"Hello," she says softly, voice husky with disuse.
"I've never seen you before nin-san," Naruto says. "Could you come more into the light?"
Sakura hops easily onto the railing of the balcony, her technique back in place. She will be shrouded from everyone's sight but this child's. She kneels down to his level, marveling over how small and healthy he is.
His family is alive.
Chubby hands come up to pat along her face and Sakura restrains the urge to flinch. She hasn't touched another person in a positive way in…well, years ago. Blond hair and a different set of blue eyes flash through her mind before she tamps it down.
Naruto pulls his hands away, nodding resolutely. "You look like Sakura-chan," he says. "Are you her aunt?"
Sakura chuckles wetly. "Not exactly," she says, staring down at her best friend from a parallel universe. "Are you good friends with Sakura-chan?"
Naruto nods enthusiastically. "Sakura-chan is the best! She is so smart and cool and sometimes she buys me ramen with her allowance." He pauses, eyes downcast. "I don't think tou-san likes her though."
Sakura's heart lurches and falls. "Oh?" she asks lightly. "What makes you think that?"
"Sometimes tou-san watches her and looks really sad. Kaa-san told me that she reminds him of someone he lost." He looks up at her earnestly. "There was a war, you see. And this lady was a brave ninja and she was lost in a battle."
Sakura nods, smirking unhappily. So this is her fate? An unnamed woman dead in a battle that was never truly her own. So be it.
"Well she sounds like a fun friend," Sakura says. "Make sure you cherish your precious people, kid. Make sure they know how much you love them." Her smile falls into a frown. "You never know when you might lose them."
Naruto nods. "I promise. I'll make sure Sakura-chan knows she is important!" He bounds forward, wrapping Sakura in a tight hug. "Thank you nin-san."
"Naruto?" Minato calls from within his room.
Naruto turns, running to grab his dad's hand and drag him outside. "Tou-san, tou-san! I met someone! She has pink hair and she…" He stops, bewildered to find that there is no one on the balcony.
She is gone.
Minato fights against clawing desperation at Naruto's description. She can't be back. She wasn't coming back. That's why…Minato shakes his head roughly, gaze alert as he stares out into the copse of trees around the estate.
"Sakura," he whispers to himself before hoisting Naruto into his arms and heading back inside.
He cannot worry about her now. He has a family. Still, Minato cannot keep from glancing back one more time, eyes seeking out an all too familiar face.
Nothing.
Minato sighs, turning his attention to Naruto as he regales him with a story about the mysterious ninja he met that night.
Sakura, for her part, watches the manor from afar, the warmth from Naruto's sudden embrace fleeting. She turns, vanishing in the night.
There is nothing left for her here.
