Well, despite what I said in my last update, I managed to write one more chapter this weekend. But I'm back in school now, so it will be a while until the next one. Enjoy! And thank you so much for the comments! I never expect my fanfiction to get any comments at all.

Sakura and the Prince of Flowers
By Miss Angel Maxwell

Chapter 6: "You Should Let Yourself Be Sad"

The day of Rock Lee's funeral was overcast and rainy, never a downpour, but a slow miserable drizzle all day long. The weather truly suited the occasion, as all of those who gathered under black umbrellas in the village square for the sad event wore faces as dark and doleful as the clouds above them. Rock Lee may not have been the most wildly popular resident of Konoha; he had a reputation of being overenthusiastic and a bit eccentric, but most people did like him and respect him, and nobody ever expected him to go at the tender age of eighteen. It was not surprising that a small crowd had gathered to pay their respects.

"Tenten is crying," Naruto whispered to Sasuke, who was standing next to him in the crowd. Sure enough, a few feet away, Lee's teammate was blubbering into Neji's shoulder as he rubbed her back to try to console her. The blonde shuddered. Tucked deep into the throng of mourners he had spotted the glaring black-rimmed eyes and rust colored hair unique to the Kazekage. "Gaara's here," he breathed.

"Where's Sakura?" was Sasuke's only response.

"Not here yet," Naruto answered, scanning the open area. His eyes finally came to rest on the small altar that had been prepared, housing a framed photo of Lee with a proud grin on his face, and the tiny silver jar containing his ashes. "It's hard to believe that Fuzzy Brows is in there. I mean… that such a little container could fit all of him inside." He paused for a minute and looked over at a pensive Sasuke. "Would you be able to do it? Die for her, I mean."

"I'd like to think I would," his friend answered thoughtfully. "If the situation came up that I would have to. But I'm not sure that Lee really sacrificed himself for Sakura's sake."

"He thought that's what he was doing," Naruto stated matter-of-factly. "And that's all that really… Hey, there's Sakura…"

Sasuke's head spun towards the direction Naruto was looking. There she was, wearing a plain black dress, her hair a wet pink mess since she didn't have an umbrella. Even from a distance, they could tell that there were dark puffy circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in days, which was quite possible. "I'm going over to her," Sasuke said.

"Me too," Naruto replied. Then he followed his dark haired buddy, politely nudging his way between the other funeral guests.

Sakura stood perfectly still in the warm mist, completely aware of everything going on around her, but unable to muster any reaction. Her emotions had been frozen since the moment Tsunade informed her that Lee's death was imminent. She couldn't speak to anyone, couldn't look at anyone, too afraid that if she did they would see her sin and hate her. But everyone's kindness and sympathy stung her even more, because she knew she didn't deserve it. She deserved to be hated. She had killed Rock Lee.

There was also the fact that she missed him, missed him deep down in her heart. Since the moment they first met, Lee had liked her. For no apparent reason, he just liked her. He was her friend. And time after time, he had protected her and encouraged her, even though they weren't in the same team. Then again, Lee was nice to everyone. He was a genuinely good person. But Sakura had another connection to Lee. Although she had dismissed that night as just comfort from a friend, she and Lee had been lovers and she could not forget it.

And yet, Sakura couldn't mourn for him like everyone else. How could she cry over how she would never look at his odd yet hopelessly endearing face smiling at her, after she had used him to ease her own loneliness? How could she remember him as her lover, after she had broken his heart and driven him into the wilderness, into a fight he couldn't win? How could she mourn for Lee when she was the one who killed him? She didn't belong at this funeral, and her inner Sakura wouldn't let her forget it.

I shouldn't be here. I'm the one who killed him, it's my fault he's dead. Everyone who is sad and crying today… it's because of me. Look at Master Gai… he looks like a father who has lost his only son… all because of what I did… Oh no, here come Naruto and Sasuke… If they say any more kind words to me, I don't know if I can take it… All I wanted was to have my team back… whole again… but can't enjoy it now… can't be happy like this…

"Hey Sakura," Sasuke greeted sweetly, placing a strong hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she said without thinking about the words.

"It's… it's okay for you to feel sad," Naruto added. "I mean, Lee was a closer friend to you than he was to us. You should let yourself be sad."

"But you can't let it ruin your life," said Sasuke. "It would break Lee's heart if you were sad forever because of him. In tough times, we have to be strong and carry on. That's why…"

"That's why we're going to go on missions again, as a team, starting next week," Naruto interrupted. "And that includes you, Sakura. You're a very important part of this team… And… you're someone very important to me…"

Sasuke gave a sympathetic head tilt. "And to me, too. We made a mistake and left you behind. But never again. If you don't think you're ready to go out on a mission yet, then we'll all stay home and wait until you are."

The young woman's lips began to tremble and her cold expression softened slightly. Like a shiver that seizes one's spine without warning, Sakura suddenly realized how ridiculous her anger at these two young men had been. She loved them, loved them more than anyone else in the world. And even if she was too much of a coward to confess her terrible sin to them, she couldn't let them go on worrying over her. She would have to come out of her icy shell, fake that everything could be like before, and wait for the gods to punish her in their own way.

"I want to go," she answered softly. "I think it would be good for all of us."

Naruto and Sasuke both smiled. Not huge smiles, but the best they could sustain being at a friend's funeral. A moment later, Sakura felt both of her hands being gently squeezed by the two men on either side of her. This was as close as either one of them could ever get to her. Because the one thing Sakura was certain of was that she would never hurt Naruto or Sasuke the way she hurt Lee.

On the day Team 7 embarked on their first new mission the skies had finally cleared up, leaving the mushy, waterlogged earth as the only evidence of the week of rain. It didn't matter much, as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were darting through the treetops, never touching the ground. Their mission was to retrieve Mr. Yamasaki's golden statue, a family heirloom that had been stolen by petty thieves. It was a low-rank mission that was ideal to ease them back into their old lifestyle.

Still, Sakura was apprehensive. In a week she had gotten quite good at pretending to be okay around everyone else. But inside her heart she was miserable. She barely ate, barely slept. When she did manage to doze off her dreams were haunted by images Lee's shattered dying body, of Naruto and Sasuke dying in the same way, and of a hideous monster that stank of rotting flesh. She was lucky if she got an hour of rest in a night before jolting awake in a cold sweat.

Today she was tired, exhausted really, but she had to push herself forward. It was a bit surreal how normal this mission was turning out to be. The three teammates were interacting just like they had before. Sakura was a few meters behind, but she could hear that Sasuke and Naruto were bickering with each other as they jumped from branch to branch. It was probably about something pointless and stupid as usual, but she couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Sakura should be in the lead," Naruto grumbled. "It would show her that she really is just as much a member of the team as you or me."

Sasuke let out an annoyed growl. "We shouldn't put too much pressure on her so soon. What, you think pushing Sakura to take on too much is going to make her feel better? Geez, you're thickheaded, Uzumaki."

"It's not pushing, it's encouraging!" Naruto retorted. "And it wouldn't hurt you to try it once in a while. You know, you didn't even show any interest in Sakura at all until a few years ago."

This irritated the Uchiha immensely. "What the hell are you trying to say, Naruto? Just because I wasn't drooling over her all the time like you, that means I can't have an opinion about what would make her happy?"

"Just shut up, Sasuke! You may have been her favorite when we were twelve, but a lot happened in those three years you were gone. Me and Sakura got pretty cozy, buddy."

Sasuke didn't respond verbally, but he shot his friend a glare as sharp as a kunai as he paused to perch on a sturdy branch and Naruto came to a stop next to him. On the ground below them stood their bandit, who had stopped to catch his breath. Now was the time to put fighting aside and work together. Sakura had landed in a treetop several meters away but still had a clear view of her teammates and their quarry.

This is it, her inner Sakura said as she crouched silently in the foliage. This is the real test. Now l find out if I can really fake the life I had before with Naruto and Sasuke.

Because she possessed perfect control of her chakra, Sakura was able to stand straight up on her precarious perch without making a sound, her sandals never slipping. Her eyes darted back and forth between the panting young man below, who was clutching a burlap wrapped parcel, and the boys, who would give her a hand signal when it was time to ambush. Despite feeling fatigued and slightly sick from a lack of sleep, the girl's mind was focused on the mission. In the corner of her sight she saw the flick of Naruto's wrist that indicated it was time. Before she could make her move, however, her legs began to wobble. She could feel the chakra she had focused in her feet as it fluctuated and surged throughout her body like a current though a livewire. Terror gripped her chest.

My chakra! I… I can't control it anymore! And… I'm going to fall!

The forest became dizzying blur of green and brown as Sakura plummeted headfirst down to earth. Twigs and branches lashed her face and cut her skin as she fell, and yet, her fear had flown away. Miss Haruno's mind had become suddenly and supremely blank, as if this descent was the release she had longed for, the end to her sorrow and remorse. As she spread her arms out wide to hug the earth at impact, she saw that her hands had been transformed. They were small, delicate, the hands of a four-year old. And the ground below her had transformed as well. Now there was a vast blanket of tiny white and yellow flowers beneath her and amidst them, a sad-eyed little boy with black hair and a crown of blossoms waiting for her with open arms. Landing at last in the embrace of her Prince of Flowers, Sakura found herself being swallowed up in sublime white light.

The first thing Sakura felt as she drifted back into consciousness was warmth, soft and tender, enwrapping her hand. When she opened her eyes he was there, hovering above her like an angel. Her Prince. Only now he was no longer a child, but a young man.

"It's you," she breathed. "Then that means… I must be dead…"

"What are you talking about, Sakura," said the Prince. "You're not dead. You fainted and fell out of a tree while we were on a mission."

"Mission?" the bewildered girl puzzled. She rubbed her eyes vigorously and looked up again. The boy holding her hand wasn't the Prince of Flowers at all. "Naruto," she sighed.

"That's right," he smiled, giving her hand a good squeeze. "Sasuke caught you before you hit the ground, but you broke your arm on a branch on the way down. Now you're back in Konoha, in the hospital. Sasuke just stepped out to get Tsunade, to tell her you're awake."

"Did… did we get Mr. Yamasaki's statue back?" Sakura asked.

Naruto gave a quick shrug. "Naw, but they'll find it. You're more important than the mission."

"Ah, I see our patient has awakened," Tsunade announced as she pushed open the door and stepped inside, with Sasuke by her side. "How are you feeling, Sakura?"

"A little confused," the girl answered. "And my arm hurts a bit. But otherwise I'm okay."

The Hokage smiled. "Well, if it's alright with you, I'd just like to speak to you for a few minutes in private. You know, discuss your condition. Boys, if you wouldn't mind."

After a moment of hesitation, Naruto and Sasuke left the hospital room with disgruntled expressions on their faces and closed the door behind them. Tsunade sat down on the side of Sakura's bed with a small sigh. The younger woman had been a student of the older for many years and by now she could usually sense when her mentor was worried. Right now her face was painted with concern as well as compassion.

"Sakura, do you remember what happened that caused you to fall?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "I suddenly lost all control of my chakra. Which is strange because I usually have perfect chakra control. I had actually already started to fall by the time I blacked out… Well actually, it was more of a whiteout than a blackout. Everything got all bright."

Tsunade nodded attentively. "Well, I hope you aren't bothered that I ran a few diagnostic scans while you were unconscious."

"Of course not," the young woman answered. Then she looked down at her lap sadly. "But I think I know why I fell. You see… I… haven't been sleeping much since Lee's death. I've been having these horrible nightmares. I know I should have told someone… and I definitely shouldn't have gone out on a mission being so tired. But I didn't want anyone to worry about me. You understand, right Tsunade?"

"Hmm," the wise old lady pondered, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "That might have contributed to your chakra fatigue. But I believe the primary cause was probably your pre-existing medical condition."

Sakura gasped and sprang bolt upright in bed. "Pre-existing condition? Tsunade, am I… am I sick?"

The Hokage looked at her with eyes that were empathetic but dead serious. "No. You're not sick," she said. "Sakura, you're pregnant."

To be continued…