Birth
"Look at her." The dark haired girl whispered, cradling the child in her arms. She spoke to no one in particular, yet it felt as though there was someone in the room, someone who was listening. "Kouji, you would love her."
She rocked the child back and forth, feeling the tiny heartbeat against her own. As one they took a breath, as one they lived. Finally she placed the sleeping infant in her crib, smiling sadly. Even if Kouji was gone, even if she was fifteen and had a child, even if life had played against her at every turn, she would let this baby live.
Chikyu Youko's harsh words rang out in her head again, banishing her child from their home. Her stepfather's stoic silence, leaving her life in ruins. And then the fatal message, the one that no one ever wanted to get.
Haruno Sakura. Her daughter. A thrill filled her. This was her family, her life now, and she wasn't going to lose it. Haruno Sakura. The flower that always bloomed when spring came, no matter what.
"We'll survive," she whispered to the sleeping Sakura, her fingers trailing across the soft cheeks. "I know we will."
She looked out the window, trees and mountains meeting her emerald eyes. A large tree—a cherry tree—grew outside the window, a few of it's soft petals blowing through the open window.
They could make it. There would be no other grave stones for the Haruno family for some time. She hoped.