notes: i'm alive with some news for you guys—all the previous chapters (1-33) have all been revised! :D
rating: K
disclaimer: i don't own naruto.
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34. gloves
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Today, the family was cleaning around the apartment.
Sheepishly, a few days ago, Sakura had remarked that she didn't have the time to unpack all of their belongings into the new apartment because of her errands. There hadn't been too much hospital shifts this week for her, but Sakura considers herself a busy woman. Sarada was told that she walked nearly everywhere in the village, seeking for ingredients, helping out her friends as a favor, and checking on the apprentice nurses-in-training at the hospital.
Feeling that her Mama did too much for everyone except herself, Sarada had stubbornly convinced her to take one day off to unpack everything for their new residence, to which Sakura had been reluctant to accept. It took some convincing, but Sarada had asked Shizune to take over her Mama's duties for the day as a favor and obviously willing to help whenever she can, Shizune had agreed wholeheartedly ("Spend time with your family, Sakura! I better not see you here for the next twenty-four hours! I'm serious!") to the idea.
Sasuke was roped into it because he was requested by Naruto to come back to oversee a few issues, and it's not like Sasuke went anywhere else but home when he's off duty.
When Sasuke tells her that afternoon that Sakura had sent him to tell her that she would like to have a word with her, Sarada hadn't been too entirely fazed. After all, Mama called her up many times for something—to ask her a question, greet her, seek for opinions, just chat, all that like.
The moment she steps beyond the threshold of the door leading to her parent's bedroom, she sees Sakura seated patiently, a pair of dark leather-like objects resting on her palms.
"There you are!" Sakura exclaims first upon looking up, her lips curling into a smile. "I thought you stepped out or something since I didn't hear you."
Sarada humors her, "So you sent Papa to find me?" In another moment, she sees Sakura's eyes shimmer and Sarada finds herself shaking her head endearingly. "I was in the living room, unpacking the curtains and couch pillows." Musingly, she taps a finger on her chin. "I think I also found your missing teacup too."
"Oh, that's great! I love that cup." Not wanting to beat around the bush, Sakura tells her, "Speaking of things that I love, I have something for you."
"What is it?" Sarada crosses the small distance the door had to sit beside her, settling her hands at her lap as Sarada looks at the bundle in her Mama's hands. "Gloves?"
They look to be made of dark leather and they seem rather worn-out and dirtied near the fingers and knuckles. Other than that, they look like any other pair of gloves—but she can tell they weren't ordinary at all, not if Sakura's nostalgic smile says anything about it.
"They used to be mine," Sakura informs her, slipping them over her hands one last time and flexes her fingers at the all-too familiar feel of them. "I wore them for so many years… I started to wear them when I decided to better myself as a person, as a shinobi."
A little astonished, Sarada echoes, "Better yourself? Why, Mama?" Her Mama is already amazing, no? What could she want to better?
Chuckling, Sakura slips off the gloves. "Well when I was younger, I used to be pretty weak." It is not an opinion, but rather, a fact at this point. Sakura from years ago would faint at the Sakura now. "Mama was the load that nobody wanted to take with them. Your Uncle Naruto, Uncle Kakashi, and your Papa always had to swoop in to save me."
"You're amazing!" Sarada tries to argue, but Sakura cuts her off.
"Not back then." She strokes the gloves absently. "I was more preoccupied with my looks than being a ninja. It wasn't until the Chunin Exams that I began to shape up."
Sarada finds herself asking, "What happened during your exam?"
"Lots of things went wrong!" Sakura's head starts to shake from all those memories. "I was the only one left standing while your Uncle Naruto and Papa were out cold. We were in the forest—I had to take care of them by myself. It was going fine for a while, but then…" Sarada sees her Mama's hands clench, in a painful sort of way. "We were ambushed. I had to protect them. I even set up traps, but they failed. Eventually, I got cornered and one of them grabbed my hair from behind."
Mortified, Sarada remains quiet. There is a foreboding silence until Sakura continues narrating.
"I felt lost—I didn't know what to do. Then I began to think about all the people who had to protect me and even made sacrifices to save me in the process." Lee's grin shows up in her thoughts. "I let so many people get hurt because of me, and I got really sick of it. I didn't want to keep looking at everyone's backs forever, y'know?"
"So you…?" murmurs Sarada, voice quiet, inviting for more to hear.
Sakura's eyes drift to gloves again. "I decided to change myself that day. Grabbed my kunai and cut my hair off to escape. Ever since that day, Mama has worked her hardest to become the person you know now. And these—" She lifts up the gloves with a smile. "—helped me along the way."
Sarada feels breathless. "Wow… Mama, you really are amazing." Perhaps she could aspire for that too someday. Sarada knows she has a long way to go, and the trip would not be easy for her.
Modest, Sakura laughs it off. "Everyone is amazing, Sarada. Not just me!" Her lips still curled up into a smile, she gently presses her gloves into Sarada's open hands. "I'm going to give them to you, so you can be amazing too."
"Are you sure…? It sounds like you really love them." The story Sakura had told her just seemed so nostalgic, and Sakura really grew attached to these gloves for her development. Sarada isn't sure if she should take something like this away from her, even if Sakura willingly handed it over with a smile that said it's okay.
"I don't really go on missions that much anymore, so I don't think I'll need them anymore. I didn't even know where they were until… today!" Sakura chortles, jestingly. "It's time they find a new owner."
Her eyes glaze over the dirtied gloves for a couple of seconds that Sarada lost track of. "All right, Mama… I will take them." She hopes that they will help her as much as they did for her Mama. And now, she'll always have a piece of Sakura with her, no matter where she is. Shifting slightly and letting the gloves rest on her lap, Sarada brings her Mama in for a hug. "Thank you."
Sakura happily reciprocates. "I know you'll treat them well."
Sakura decides to not mention to Sarada about the moving shadow outside the room, opting to thank Sasuke for retrieving Sarada for her.
