Chapter 24:
— Memento —
Four sorrowful days have passed since naruto fell into the precipice. Tsunade prepared a funeral in commemoration of the death of naruto. It's a very gloomy day in konoha. Clouds are grayish in color for the past four days.
Sasuke was told to go to the office of tsunade. He was ordered to write a full report of what happened between naruto and him. Meanwhile sakura was going to
Clean naruto's apartment. As she opened the door, Jiraiya was lying on the floor sleeping. Bottles of sake was scattered all over the place. Sakura decided to put a blanket over the drunkard man.
While sakura was putting on the blanket on jiraiya, a simple word comes out of the mouth of the old man.
"Naruto…." Jiraiya whispered on his sleep. A surge of emotion began to build up in the chest of sakura. "He felt really sad too when he heard the death of naruto…" Sakura thought to herself.
After awhile, she began to picked up the bottles of sake in the floor and gently sweep it. Sakura also brush away the spider webs on the ceiling. Them she focused her look on the hole that was on the ceiling.
"This hole, I was the one who created this hole by punching him into it…" She smirked. "Because of this hole, naruto and I saw that wonderful meteor shower five days ago…"
She suddenly felt tired because of cleaning up the whole place so sakura decided to sit on the side of naruto's bed. But she felt a sudden gush of emotion in her chest when Naruto and her slept together in that same bed. Sakura gently stroked the bed as she remembered every single detail that happened that night.
"I've never thought that it will be the last time that I will see you naruto-kun …" tears gently flowed out of sakura's eyes. "You've promised me that you return!" She burst out crying on the bed of naruto which causes jiraiya to wake up from his sleep.
"Huh, is that you sakura?" Jiraiya hazily asked the girl. Sakura quickly rubbed off the tears from her eyes.
"I— I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama if I wake you up…" She sadly replied.
"No, that's okay sakura" Jiraiya stand up. He then noticed the blanket that was covering him.
He confusingly looked down at it.
"I'm the one that puts that blanket, you seemed kinda cold so I put it on…" sakura promptly explained.
Jiraiya smiled. "Thank you about that" he then folded the blanket and puts it on the cabinet of naruto.
He looked around and notices that the whole place was cleaned up. Jiraiya looked at sakura
"You clean the whole place?"
"yes, I had nothing much to do today so I decided to clean up naruto's room"
"I see…"
Silence…
Jiraiya walk towards the terrace while crossing his arm together. He looked up in the sky.
"You know naruto's a very lucky boy…" Jiraiya blissfully commented.
Sakura confusingly glanced at Jiraiya. "Why is that…"
Jiraiya smirk while he looked back at sakura. "Because a very beautiful girl was concerned about him!"
Sakura lowers her head. "But—"
"You know what! I'm sure naruto is very happy wherever he is…"
Sakura looked up on the old man.
"Because of you sakura…" Jiraiya enthusiastically smiled.
She cheerfully smirked. "Jiraiya-sama…"
"Oh yeah, that forehead protector you were wearing sakura. It was naruto's right?"
Sakura nodded in response. "But how did you know?"
"Well because of the scars and scratch on the metal part. Naruto's forehead protector is the only one in this village that had scars like that…." Jiraiya boastfully explained.
"really?"
"Yeah! And he's the only boy that I know who can damage his protector like that!" Jiraiya added.
"Yeah, he can be so reckless sometimes…" Sakura calmly respond.
"Well then, see you later sakura. I still have a lot to do so take care!" He jumped down at the terrace while waving goodbye to sakura.
Sakura waved back at him. "See you later Jiraiya-sama"
After seeing of jiraiya, Sakura sat back at the bed of naruto. She gently held naruto's forehead protector that was tied in her hair.
"Naruto…." She sadly whispered.
To be continued…..