This is the final chapter of the story. Let's see how things will turn out.
Last time on Gomenasai…
Once Ino had reached home, she let Sakura take a warm bath before they went to bed. Ino was still crying as Sakura frowned.
"Ino-pig…" Sakura called out.
"Sakura…I'm- I'm so sorry…" Ino cried. Sakura sadly smiled as she pulled Ino closer to her.
"It's alright Ino. Really it is. I forgave you a long time ago because that's what best friends do." Sakura said as she stroke Ino's hair. It was silent between then for a few minutes before Ino spoke again.
"Are you scared?" Ino asked. It was silent again as Ino looked up at Sakura as their eyes met. Sakura's were filled with tears as she was trying not to cry.
"More than you know Ino. More than you know…"
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Ino woke up to see Sakura wasn't in bed. She quickly got up and found her in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Good morning Ino-pig!" Sakura grinned.
"G-Good-morning." Ino said wearily. She expected Sakura to be crying but she wasn't. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Sakura asked. Her expression looked genuinely confused. It was then she noticed the difference. Sakura's hair was darker as well as her eyes.
"Inner Sakura." Ino said.
Sakura smirked. "Only you can tell. Sakura was emotionally unstable. So I let her rest and we switched spots for the moment. You know I'm trying everything I can to stall her death. Her body is just falling apart. To be honest, she's not going to last long."
"How long do you think she'll have?" Ino asked trying to keep a straight face.
"Until tomorrow." Inner Sakura said calmly. Ino closed her eyes and tried to hold back her sob.
"You should spend the rest of the day with Naruto then." Ino said.
Inner Sakura smiled sadly. "I know. I already contacted him earlier. He'll be meeting me here with the rest of the team around noon."
Like she had said, the rest of Team Seven had arrived at Ino's apartment. Sakura and Inner Sakura had switched places a couple minutes ago and was back to her normal self. Kakashi and the others noticed that Sakura looked paler and more tired, but didn't comment on it.
"Is the princess ready to go?" Kakashi joked.
Sakura smiled as she nodded. Naruto grinned as he kissed her and laced his hands with hers as they left. Ino waved goodbye as she shut the door behind her. She soon sunk to the floor and cried.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Itadakimasu!" The whole team said as they went to the Ichiraku ramen shop. Sakura sat in the middle as Naruto and Kakashi were on her left and Sai and Yamato were on her right.
"It's been a while since the team has been together!" Yamato said happily.
"Ah." Kakashi said as he began to pull off his mask. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai watched intensely waiting to see what was under the mask.
A loud cough was heard behind Naruto as he turned his attention to Sakura who was coughing roughly.
"Hag, are you okay?" Sai asked.
"I'm fine." Sakura said weakly as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Sai narrowed his eyes when he noticed the spots of blood.
"That was good." Kakashi announced. The trio looked back to see Kakashi had finished his bowl. They missed it! Naruto looked up at Ayame to see her blushing once again and her father mumbling about good looks and masks.
"WAH! That's not fair Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto frowned.
"Too bad." Kakashi smiled. "We're going to train. Oh but before that! Naruto, wasn't there something you wanted to give Sakura?"
"Oh yeah!" Naruto grinned as he pulled out a long jewelry box. Sakura's eyes widened in surprised.
"What's this?" Sakura asked.
"It's a gift from all of us." Yamato smiled.
Sakura opened the jewelry box to see a silver bracelet. There were six chains on it: A cherry blossom, a Naruto you eat with ramen, a paint brush, an Uchiha fan, an icha icha paradise book, and the Konoha leaf sign.
"They're to represent each of us." Kakashi spoke as he ruffled Sakura's hair.
Sakura's eyes got watery as she let out a smile. "Thank you."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Kakashi and Yamato were in the front as the trio was behind. Sai couldn't help but feel weird about the blood he saw earlier. What was this feeling? He looked up at the couple to see them laughing and holding hands. Sai mentally shook his head as he smiled. He wouldn't want to ruin their moment.
"Alright!" Yamato said. "Naruto, you will be fighting against me and Kakashi. So, Sai and Sakura, that leaves you."
Sai and Sakura nodded. Naruto was excited. Finally, a challenge!
As Kakashi passed by Sai, he whispered something really quick.
"Be careful with her. Something is wrong." Kakashi said as he headed to Naruto and Yamato. Sai stared at Kakashi's back. So he noticed it too.
Sai and Sakura began to spar for the first five minutes. Sakura growled. She knew that Sai was going easy on her.
"Come on Sai!" Sakura said angrily.
"I can't ugly!" Sai said with a frowned.
"Why not? Is it because I'm weak?" Sakura yelled.
"You're already at your limit." Sai commented as calmly as he could. Sakura's eyes widened when she noticed that she was already sweating and her breathing was hard.
"Not yet…" Sakura cried as she looked over at Naruto's training. "I can't leave yet."
"What's wrong with you?" Sai asked. "I saw the blood earlier."
Sakura forced a smile. "I'm fine. Now let's go back to-"
It was like slow motion. Her body felt heavy as she saw Sai's worried expression and him calling out for Kakashi.
Not yet…
Naruto appeared as he was saying something to her. But she couldn't hear him. Her body had shot down.
Please…
She felt her eye lids close on her, but she felt warm shaking hands hold her.
Allow me to take over…
Inner Sakura woke up to the sounds of machines. She was in the hospital once again. She noticed that it was night time. Inner Sakura sighed as she heard someone enter the room.
"You're awake." It was Tsunade.
"Tsunade." Inner Sakura greeted.
"Inner Sakura." Tsunade nodded. "How long does she have?"
"She pushed her limit today when she spared against Sai." Inner Sakura said. "I don't know how long she has now. Where's-?"
"I sent Naruto and the others home." Tsunade said. "They were really worried."
"Tsunade. I have a request. This is how we can save the Angel's tears." Inner Sakura said. "I'm sorry to ask of you to do this since you when through it before. You know what I'm talking about."
Tsunade's eyes widened as she touched her stomach. It was one of the reasons why she and Shizune left the village many years ago. "I-I can't go through-"
"You don't have to. There can be someone else who can." Inner Sakura said. Tsunade soon remembered the scroll Karin had gotten from the village leader not so long ago.
"There is…" Tsunade said. She looked around before sighing. "We'll wait until midnight. I will have Shizune fetch you and bring you out of the village. But last time this happened, she didn't have the bloodline with her."
"That's because you didn't separate the two of them. I hold the bloodline, Sakura does not." She explained. "I can't control this body much longer. Her body is too weak."
Tsunade was already in tears. "I-I understand." She choked back a sob.
"You know. Sakura had always thought of you as a mother. She loves you very much." Inner Sakura smiled. "She was glad to have met you."
Tsunade took her hand and squeezed it. "Thank you…" She said as the tears fell. Tsunade soon left the room as she allowed Inner Sakura to rest. A couple hours later, she guessed it was midnight because Shizune had entered her room. She was wearing a black cloak.
"Sakura-san, are you ready?" Shizune asked as she removed all the tubes from Sakura. Inner Sakura nodded. Shizune didn't like how Sakura looked. Her cheeks were a bit hallowed and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked paler than Sai.
"We have to hurry. I'm losing control of her body. I can't hold back the effects anymore." Inner Sakura warned. Shizune nodded as she allowed Inner Sakura to walk on her feet. She wasn't able to stand by herself anymore. She was losing the ability to hold herself up. Shizune frowned as she carried Sakura in her arms. She was really light. Lighter than usual and that scared her. Inner Sakura wrapped her weak arms around Shizune's neck as she made a run for it out the window. She had to hurry. They could not afford to get caught.
"S-Shizune…" Sakura said. Shizune looked back to see Sakura's eye and hair color fading from dark to normal. Inner Sakura was losing control.
"Hang on Sakura. We're almost there." Shizune cried silently as she added more chakra to her feet. Finally they made it to the Hokage tower where Tsunade was waiting for her.
"Shizune, we have to do this outside Konoha." Tsunade said as she was gathering things from her desk. The trio sneaked past the guards and ran to the heavy forest.
"Are you prepared for this?" Tsunade asked.
"Hur-hurry, Shishou." Sakura asked. Inner Sakura was gone.
"Sakura-san, when Tsunade-sama does this jutsu, your body will be split into two. We will be able to make a form for Inner Sakura and she will be carrying the bloodline. You will die regularly." Shizune explained. She was in tears.
Sakura started to cry. "I'm ready."
Tsunade nodded as she bit her thumb and made a few hand seals before touching the ground. Sakura sat across from Tsunade as a circle of blood surrounded them. It began to glow a pink light. Their hairs were lifting up as well as the bracelet on Sakura's left hand. Tsunade lifted her shaking right hand to Sakura's head. Her hand had covered Sakura's eyes from her sight. Tsunade closed her eyes and allowed her chakra to do its magic.
Sakura's eyes widened as memories from her childhood until now came to her. After a couple minutes, Sakura began to glow pink as well. Tsunade could feel her warm tears.
"S-Shishou, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Sakura was apologizing for all the times she was weak.
Tsunade broke down crying as her chakra blasted out of her hands as Sakura fell back. "No. I'm sorry." Tsunade whispered before Sakura had let darkness consumed her. Shizune quickly caught her as she cradled Sakura in her arms, sobbing. Tsunade numbly watched as a body was being formed next to Sakura. The jutsu worked. They saved the bloodline, but with a price. A painful price.
"SAKURA!" Tsunade cried as she pulled Sakura's body to her bosom.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Naruto had stretched as he had awakened. It was early morning as he looked outside his window. He was surprised to see Ino running towards the hospital in her pajamas. Neji and Shikamaru were heading towards the gates with Iruka-sensei. Naruto quickly got dressed as he went down.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked out loud.
"It's her teammate." Naruto heard one of the civilians say.
"It looks like he doesn't have a clue. The poor thing." Another said.
"N-Naruto-kun!" A voice called out. Naruto turned around to see Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Kurenai, and her baby son.
"You guys! What's going on? Everyone seems to be worried." Naruto frowned. He couldn't help but have a weird feeling in his stomach.
"W-We were wondering too. Neji-niisan left in a hurry after Shikamaru came over to the compound. Shikamaru seemed distraught. When Neji asked what was going on, Shikamaru just pulled him out of the house." Hinata said. "I hope it isn't anything terrible."
"I bumped into Kakashi earlier. He wanted you to go get Sai and meet him and the hospital." Kurenai said with a frowned. "He looked torn apart."
Naruto's eyes widened. Sakura was in the hospital. Did something…
"I need to get Sai." Naruto said as he ran towards Sai's apartment.
"Shino, go with him." Kurenai ordered. Shino nodded as he chased after Naruto.
The two reached Sai's apartment as Naruto knocked on the door. Sai opened it a few minutes later. His hands were covered in paint, showing that he was painting.
"Come in." Sai said as he opened the door wider for the two to enter. Naruto looked past Sai to see what he was working on. He was surprised to see a painting of Sakura. It was pretty good, yet he could tell he hadn't finished it yet.
"We have to go to the hospital." Naruto said. "So hurry up and change." Sai nodded and after that, they were heading towards the hospital. They were running on the roofs as they could see what was going on. Naruto could see Tenten and Lee sprinting to the hospital with Gai-sensei following after them. They passed by the gates to see Shikamaru yelling at one of the ANBU as Neji was holding him back. Iruka was trying to calm him down. They decided to stop and see what was going on.
"Stop lying to me!" Shikamaru screamed. The ANBU and the two medics behind him waited for Shikamaru to calm down.
"I'm sorry Nara." One of them said. "If you excuse me, we have to go to the hospital immediately."
"Shikamaru! Neji! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out. Shikamaru and Neji looked at Naruto with an expression of hurt. For Neji to have an expression like that on his face, something was terribly wrong.
"Uzumaki." The ANBU called out. "My condolences…" The ANBU signaled the medics to carrying on moving. It was then that Naruto noticed the stretcher they were holding. It was a small body covered over a white sheet. The three past by as Naruto turned his attention back to Shikamaru and Neji. Before he could ask questions, a sound of chains hit his ear. Looking back at the medics, he watched as the left hand of the body had fallen out of the stretcher. His eyes widened with horror. On the pale left hand was a silver bracelet with six chains on it. The medics soon disappeared at the ANBU transported them to the hospital.
"Naruto…" Shino began to say. He already knew what was going on.
Naruto and Sai angrily ran to the hospital.
"Naruto…" Sai said. He was serious. "That body they were carrying was Sakura wasn't it."
Naruto didn't say anything as they finally made it to the hospital. It was crazy. Ino was in her pajamas ordering the nurses around. Tsunade and Shizune were nowhere to be seen. Naruto looked closely to see Ino was in tears. She must have saw Sakura already.
"Ino." Naruto called out. Ino saw the look on Naruto's face.
"She's the emergency room. Her body was found by an ANBU on his way back from a mission. For some reason, she was outside of the village. Tsunade called me and Shikamaru in. She wanted me to get ready in the hospital and for Shikamaru to get Neji and go to the gate. I didn't know what was going on. I'm going in. When the medics brought her in, she looked like she was dead, but she had a pulse. We're working on that chance we have." Ino said as she had a look of determination.
"Please help her…" Naruto told her. Ino nodded as she went through the double doors.
To Naruto it seem like hours went by. The whole gang had arrived and was in the waiting room. Soon a nurse had rushed out of the E.R. and later came back with Tsunade, Shizune, Kotetsu and Izumo who ran back in. This had everyone worried. A few minutes later, yelling was heard.
"Let me go!" Shikamaru had gotten up. That was Ino's voice. Shikamaru entered the E.R. as everyone else followed.
"Yamanaka, you did all that you could." Izumo said.
"I SAID LET ME GO!" Ino screeched. "SHE'S DYING! YOU CAN'T LET HER DIE!"
"We have to bring you out. Hokage's orders." Kotetsu said. He stopped when he saw their audience.
"Ino." Tenten called out. Ino looked at her friend with bloodshot eyes. "Sakura…"
Ino's eyes widened as she broke down sobbing. Tenten covered her mouth as her own tears appeared.
Hinata let out a horrified gasp as Kiba held her in his arms. He was trying not to cry as well. Akamaru let out sad howl. Shino was silent as he covered his eyes with his hand. Lee sank to the floor, not believing what was happening. Neji looked away as he closed his eyes. Shikamaru fell to the ground. His back was against the wall as he stared at the bed where his dead friend was laying on. Chouji sat down next to Shikamaru and wrapped hid his face with his legs as he hugged his knees. Gai for once was silent. Iruka and Kurenai looked at Kakashi to see him lower his head. Yamato's body was shaking as he went to Sakura's body and touched it. He quickly took his hand back. Her body was ice cold. Sai didn't know what to feel. His body was shaking as well. He didn't feel good. He felt pain in his heart and his cheeks were wet, but he didn't know why. He wiped the wetness away, but more kept coming. Running was heard down the hall. Tsunade looked to see Itachi running into the room with Sasuke and his team behind him. Surprisingly Sakura's grandma was with them.
"No!" Juugo said with a frowned.
"Damn it! We were too late!" Suigetsu said.
Karin just stared at Sakura's body as she cried. Suigetsu took Karin into an embrace.
Sasuke rested his head on the door as he allowed himself to cry silently. Itachi frowned as he watched his brother cry. Kaede went to Tsunade and pulled her out of the room.
Naruto had finally moved as everyone watched him. He slowly went up to Sakura and stared down at her. Her face looked peaceful. She didn't look like she was in pain anymore. She was paler than Sai. He expected her to open her green eyes and smile at him again, but she didn't. He held her hand and noticed the difference in temperature. "Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. He fell to his knees. "S-Sa-Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto broke down crying. Iruka-sensei pulled Naruto up to him and grabbed him into an embrace.
Medics covered Sakura's body with the white cover again. It was quiet as Sakura's body was taken out of the room. Tsunade and Kaede came back as Tsunade cleared her throat. "The funeral is decided. It will take place five days from now." Tenten stiffened. That was a day before her birthday.
XxXxXxXxX
Konoha were in shock when they heard the news of the death of the Hokage's apprentice. Everyone that had known Sakura was going to attend the funeral. Kisame had permission to attend the funeral with Gai and Genma watching him.
Akamaru went up to Kiba to see how he was doing. Hana was in his room trying to calm him down,
"It's not fair!" Kiba growled as tears streamed down his face. "I thought she was getting better."
"It's okay Kiba. She's in a better place now, away from all the bad things in the world. She wouldn't want you to be sad over her death." Hana said as she stroked her brother's hair. Akamaru frowned as Kiba went up and hugged him.
"Its okay Akamaru." Kiba cried on his fur. "It's okay to cry!"
XxXxXxXxXxX
Shino was eating dinner with his family.
"Would you like more rice?" Shino's mom asked him. Shino said nothing. Her eyes widened when she noticed that her son was actually crying.
"Oh Shino!" His mom said as she got up from her seat and hugged him. Shino just covered her face again as he silently cried. His dad watched the scene with a frown. This Sakura girl must have been something special if she was able to stir up an emotion from his son.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Chouji was in his room as he stared at the ceiling numbly.
"Hello my son!"Chouza greeted Chouji as he walked in. "Your mom wants to try this new BBQ restaurant that opened. Let's get ready and check it out!"
"I'm not hungry father…" Chouji said as he never moved from his spot. Chouza's eyes widened. His son was actually rejecting food?
"I heard what happened from Inoichi. I'm sorry to hear what happened to your friend. She was a great person." Chouza said.
"Then why did she have to die?" Chouji asked. Chouza was speechless.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Gai offered to train Tenten and Lee. Neji was busy with the clan business.
"Let's make this fun. You youthful couple are against me!" Gai announced. Tenten and Lee quietly nodded as they got in position. Gai noticed that their bodies were there but their minds weren't. He had to find a way to make them fight.
"I don't know why you guys are grieving so long. She wasn't anything special!" Gai said. Forgive me for lying. Tenten and Lee looked up at Gai with a glare.
"How can you say that?" Tenten growled as she pulled out a scroll.
"Sakura-san was a beautiful person. She was strong and kind!" Lee shouted. "She started as a ninja from parents with no bloodline and with hard work and determination Sakura-san was able to be the best of the very best."
"She didn't deserve to die!" Tenten shouted as her weapons were floating in the air. She angrily shot them all at Gai. Gai tried to dodge it but was stopped when Lee appeared and punched him in the stomach. "She wouldn't want us to be sad over her death!" Lee said.
"Of course she wouldn't. So take her death as a way to get stronger. Sakura died as a hero. She's the perfect example of youth." Gai said with a smile.
"You tricked us." Tenten said with a frowned.
"Come on! If we don't take training seriously, we won't be able to catch up to Sakura in strength!" Gai said as he started to run towards the sun.
"YES GAI-SENSEI!" Lee said as he pulled Tenten and started to run after their sensei.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Kakashi opened his eyes as he looked at his clock in the room. It was past 8 am. It had been two days since Sakura was announced dead. He failed another teammate. He sighed deeply as he stared at the picture of team seven on his headboard. He traced the smiling face of Sakura. He closed his eyes. He'd never see her smile at him again.
"Sakura…" Kakashi said as he covered his face with his hands. The doorbell rang as he slowly went to his door. He opened it to reveal Kurenai and Kukai.
"How are you Hatake?" Kurenai asked.
"He's looking more like Asuma each day." Kakashi said.
"Please don't change the subject. Yamato wanted me to fetch you to clean out Sakura's apartment. He's there right now with Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke. I'm sorry for your loss. She's was a wonderful student." Kurenai said. Kakashi had gotten ready and the two left his apartment and headed to Sakura's. Everyone step was painful to him.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
"Well, when you went back to ANBU and the Hokage was busy, Sakura came to me and asked me to train her in Genjutsu. I was surprised to see how good she was already, so I taught her everything I knew." Kurenai smiled in memory. "She was so happy."
"Thank you for being there for her when I didn't. I'm a bad sensei. I let her down. She must have hated me so much for abandoning her." Kakashi mumbled.
Kurenai frowned. "That's not true, she loved you. I'd take her out once in a while and she'd tell me all the story of your team. She said she was happy to have you as a sensei, even if you were late and a bad liar." Kakashi let out a small chuckle. "If she had the chance to redo everything in her life, she said she'd never change having you as a sensei and being a part of team seven, no matter how much pain she went through. She loved you guys that much."
The two finally made is as Kurenai sighed. Kakashi's eyes darkened as he saw Ino walking up the steps to his student's apartment. "Well I have to go and meet up with Shizune. She's been locked up in her home crying. It's so bad that not even Genma can get her to come out."Kurenai patted Kakashi on the left shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself." With that said, she took off. Kakashi watched numbly as Kurenai disappeared from sight.
Kakashi entered the apartment to see the living room filled with boxes. The couches, tables, and chairs were removed already. He looked to see that Naruto hadn't arrived yet. Everyone else was sitting on the floor silently. No one wanted to break the tension. They still couldn't believe it. They still couldn't believe she was gone. The sound of the front door opening was heard as everyone looked to see Naruto silently entering.
"Sorry I'm late…" He said in a monotone voice.
"Well, since everyone is here now, we can start cleaning this place up." Yamato said taking leadership. Obviously his sempai was in no condition.
"I call her bedroom." Ino said, getting up and carrying a large box with her.
"I'll help as well." Naruto said. Ino nodded as they headed to her room.
"I'll be cleaning the living room then." Sai said.
"Kakashi-sempai and I will be doing the kitchen." Yamato said.
"I guess I'll clean the bathroom then help clean the extra room." Sasuke said as he disappeared into the bathroom with a box.
For the next few hours, all that could be heard was the sound of things being placed in the boxes. Naruto sighed as Ino had finished putting Sakura's clothes away in the box. She stopped when she spotted a familiar red ribbon. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to hold back a sob.
"Ino?" Naruto called out.
"T-This was the ribbon I gave her when we first became friends. This was the symbol of our friendship." Ino allowed herself to cry. "She can't be gone! I don't want to think that I won't be able to see her anymore. I don't want to grow old without her by my side. I don't want to forget her! WHY!"
Naruto gulped. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He picked up a team seven picture as he traced over Sakura's face. "Then don't!" Naruto said. Naruto slid to the floor as the picture lay on his lap. He covered his face on his legs and let out all that he was keeping in. Ino's eyes widened as she stared at Naruto. He was completely in love with her, ever since they were kids. When she finally loved him back, she was taken away from him. Ino moved up to her friend and hugged him.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered as she too cried with him.
Sasuke, who had finished cleaning the bathroom, frowned when he heard his blond friends crying in Sakura's room. This was all wrong. Sakura shouldn't be dead. Cleaning out her apartment felt wrong. He was too late into finding a cure. Sakura depended on him to help her. It was his way to amend for his mistakes, for him to make up for all the hurt he had caused. She was gone and it was his fault because he was too late. He was always too late.
Sai had finished cleaning half the room as he stopped in front of the wall with all the pictures that held dear memories for Sakura. He remembered when he first came to Sakura's house and saw this. His mind replayed the memory in his mind. He could faintly see Sakura talking to him about the pictures on her wall.
"I hope I didn't take too long" Sakura said.
"I was just looking at the pictures, you have a lot around your house" Sai commented. Sakura laughed.
"Every picture has a memory I treasure dearly." Sakura said.
"Ugly…why did you have to go and die?" Sai growled quietly as he felt something touch wet on his face. Why was his face wet? "What is this?" Sai asked as he wiped them away.
"It's called crying stupid." Sasuke said as he came into the living room with two boxes: One from the bathroom and another from the extra room in the apartment. Sasuke looked at the pictures on the wall. Sai watched as Sasuke faintly smiled at some.
"Do you regret it?" Sai asked. Sasuke looked at him signaling he didn't understand his replacement's question. "Do you regret leaving Sakura? Do you blame yourself?"
"If I didn't leave, I wonder if she would have been the same woman she was now." Sasuke said as he began to take down the pictures. Itachi had dropped by an hour later and looked at everyone's expressions. They were filled of hurt and sadness. It looked like they lost the reason to live.
'Sakura, you don't know how much of an effect you have on the village.' Itachi thought numbly. On his way there, no one was on the streets. People were mourning inside their homes. He had just drunk his sadness away with Kisame earlier. Kisame tried to cheer his friend up but failed.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Shikaku sighed as he waited for his son to make the next move on their game. He was getting a déjà vu feeling at this moment.
"I heard about the loss of your friend from Chouza." Shikaku said as he looked at Shikamaru's expression. His son had been silent at home since the announcement of his friend's death. When Asuma died, Shikamaru threw a fit and cried each day. "How is Ino doing? Sakura was best friends with her, wasn't she?" Shikamaru didn't answer.
Shikaku sighed and was about to give up talking to his son when he spoke.
"It's not fair." Shikamaru whispered. "It's not fair! Why did she have to die?"
"It's too troublesome to think about it." Shikaku said. Shikamaru growled as he tossed the board game to the floor. Here was the fit!
"It was my fault! I shouldn't have let go of her on that mission. I shouldn't have let her go back to that base alone. She was hurting so much. She looked up to me like a brother and I let her down in her time of need. We couldn't help her! I couldn't save her!" Shikamaru pounded his fist to the wall as he let out a cry. Yoshino, who was in the other room, covered her mouth. This was all too much to see. The entire village seemed to have gone through a great depression. She had never properly met this Sakura Haruno, but she has heard of her and seen her a few times. She wished she could have gotten to know her better.
XxXxXxXxX
It was the day of the funeral as everyone was dressed up in black. People from all over the allied nations came to see the burial of Sakura Haruno. Team seven was standing next to the casket. Ino silently joined them as Naruto came to speak. Tsunade stood next to him as support.
"I'm not here to give praise to Sakura-chan…" Naruto said numbly. "Instead, I'd like to talk about her actions. As you guys probably know, Sakura-chan had a crazy temper. I knew that especially since we were genin." A few laughs appeared. "Ever since we were little, she'd beat the crap out of me and swoon over Teme. But, be honest, what girl didn't. Our team was close even if we had our differences here and there. I remember during mission, we'd all sleep in our sleeping bags. Sakura-chan would be in the middle of Sasuke and me. Kakashi would be nearby. It was then I realized that Sakura-chan would snore in her sleep. It sounded like something horrible." Sasuke let out a small snort.
"That's an understatement…" Sasuke commented. The crowed chuckled a bit.
"You'd think that's funny but towards the end of her life, when her health was at its worse, this little sound let me know that Sakura-chan was still alive." Naruto said. All was quiet as people felt the urge to cry. The look Naruto had on his face made people want to cry for him. "What I wouldn't give to feel her painful punches. What I wouldn't give just to hear her crazy snores before I sleep. In the end, it's these small things that you remember little imperfections? That made them perfect...for you. So to everyone here, I hope one day you all find yourselves beautiful life partners who are as beautifully imperfect as Sakura-chan was...to me."
Everyone was silent as they let Naruto's words reach them. That was the most touching thing they ever heard. The girls were already crying as the boys looked at Naruto with new found respect.
"Thank you Naruto…" Tsunade said taking the stage. "We will begin with the burial." Sakura's casket was opened, revealing the beautiful girl that was in an eternal slumber. One by one, people went and left white roses for her. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo hadn't showed up to the funeral as well as Sakura's own grandma. Karin couldn't handle the death and left the village to forget. Kaede couldn't bear to see her last family member buried. Ino ended up crying on top of the casket as a crying Hinata and teary Temari was trying to calm her down.
"How could you leave me Forehead? Sakura!" Ino bawled. Tenten watched the scene far away as she covered her mouth in an attempt to stop crying. Naruto watched with an indescribable expression. Ino's crying over Sakura's casket was forever imprinted in his mind.
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Tsunade sighed as she stared at all the new paper work that appeared on her desk. It seems that two days after the funeral, it was reported that Sai was seen throwing pink and green paint outside his apartment as he let his emotions get to him and ruin his painting of Sakura which he later placed the picture on his wall. Yesterday, Tenten was too depressed to celebrate her birthday and had sent anyone that brought up Sakura to her in the hospital, which was really troublesome for him.
Later that night, it was stated that Hinata Hyuga had stolen forbidden scrolls from her office and tried to find a way to bring Sakura back. What she didn't know was that it needed a life for a life. If Neji hadn't found her in time, Hinata would have been dead. From what the cousins reported, Hinata made a seal on the floor of her room with her own blood. It was said that Neji saw the figure of Sakura walking in the Hyuga compound. It was heading to where Hinata was. He ran to Hinata's room and quickly messed up the circle of blood as Sakura's figure had disappeared. She had Anko check Sakura's grave the next day to see that it seemed like someone had been messing with it.
Tsunade had to put her plan into action soon. She had to announce her next successor.
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It was March 28. Twenty three days had passed since the funeral and things were beginning to become normal again. People were gathering around the Hokage tower. News of Tsunade stepping down from her role as Hokage was a shocker. Rumors went around saying that since she lost her apprentice, she couldn't handle being in the village and wanted to forget. Everyone knew that Sakura was like a daughter to their Hokage.
"Thank you everyone for coming!" Tsunade's strong voice echoed. "As you may have heard, I will be stepping down from title of Hokage and passing it to someone who is very deserving of it. He had done so much for the village and had brought change and hopes to many people. I present to you your next Hokage…UZUMAKI NARUTO!" Naruto headed to where Tsunade was standing. People were cheering on for him. Naruto's eyes widened at everyone's reaction. He felt like he was going to cry. Shikamaru was up on stage with him as he was announced as the village's new strategist.
People were soon distracted when the cherry blossoms in Konoha had bloomed and floated around in the air. Naruto slowly reached up to catch one. A cherry blossom was what Sakura's name meant. How ironic, the cherry blossoms bloomed on the day of Sakura's birthday.
"Naruto…"
Naruto had let go of the petal and watched it float over the crowd. There was a small group of people behind the crowd. Naruto was surprised to see Jiraiya giving him thumbs up. The Third Hokage and Asuma were with Jiraiya too. They both smiled at Naruto while Asuma went and looked somewhere else. There was a couple standing next to Jiraiya. It was the fourth Hokage and his wife. He was smiling proudly at him as Kushina was crying tears of joy. Her eyes widened as she turned around and was pulling someone towards her. Naruto felt his heart beat faster. It was no other than Sakura. Sakura looked around as if lost. When Kushina pointed towards Naruto, Sakura's eyes met with his. Her green eyes widened as she continued to stare at him. She soon smiled.
"I love you."
The ghosts that visited were slowly leaving. The third Hokage looked over to his son who was hovering over Kurenai and Kukai. He had kissed her on the forehead as he stared at his son. Kurenai had slowly touched her forehead as if she felt something. Asuma soon flew over to Shikamaru and patted his head before heading back down to the third Hokage. They soon turned their backs to Naruto and faded away. Jiraiya mouthed 'congrats' before following after his sensei. His parents and Sakura were left. His parents had flown over to him giving him a hug and kiss on the forehead. Naruto could feel their ghostly touches and cried. Kushina pulled Sakura up with them as Sakura was crying. His parents were already gone.
"Gomenasai Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered to her. Sakura shook her head with a smile as she cupped his face lovingly.
'It's alright. I'm in a better place now. I'll be watching over you and everyone else always.'
Sakura slowly faded away like everyone else. Naruto closed his eyes.
Thank you Sakura-chan…
IT'S OVER! Thank you so much for sticking to this story. If you wanted more, don't worry, there will be a sequel because obviously there are things that weren't clear such as Karin's part and Kameko's escape. I don't know when I will start making it. But I'll update this story again to give out the news. I hoped you guys enjoyed the story.
-Kumiko