As the man roamed the empty streets that unfolded in front of him, he looked around him. The sun was already down, and the night had started to fall. There was no moonlight. The clouds covered the dark sky almost completely. The lamps illuminating the streets suddenly lit up on cue. There were still a few people around. Some of them headed to the main street that at that time should be flooded with merchants, entertainers, and youngsters. The remainder of the people who passed by him looked as tired as he was feeling. One woman in particular was walking rather sluggishly and appeared as if she would faint at any moment. He fixed her for a few moments making sure she was fine. He concluded that although she seemed fatigued, she was in shape of getting home safely.
He himself must be looking the same way as her, if not worse. The last time he'd looked himself in the mirror, he had the darkest circles under his eyes. Ever since then, he hadn't been able to sleep. He continued down the street. The neighbourhood was acquiring an increasing shabby appearance as he proceeded, and some children could now be spotted playing around in the emptier streets. He took a left turn reaching a larger street not long after. He looked over at the beige building on the other side of the street. One could see its pipes protruding on the roof and green wood covering the base of the outside walls. Stairs and corridors on the outside allowed the access to the upper floors. Attached to the front door's glass were warnings and memos from the condominium, along with a missed school card from one of the kids who lived there. The man climbed the stairs until he reached the last floor and sighed before unlocking a green wooden door.
The apartment was devoid of human presence. When he took off his shoes and turned on the lights, only his footfalls and the noise of the old light bulb could be heard. The kitchen was a mess. There were empty cartons of milk accumulating on the small dining table, the kitchen countertop was full of dishes and the floor clearly needed some cleaning. He made space on the table for the books he was carrying with him and looked around him wearily. Ignoring the mess, he continued to the bedroom and sprawled on the modest-sized bed. The room was in as much disarray as the kitchen, except for the bedside table where lay an old lamp, an alarm clock, a petite toad figure and a picture. He was already asleep before he could even remember to take off his hitayate.
The alarm clock marked 10.30am when he finally woke up.
"Shit!" He leapt from the bed and immediately thanked a higher force for having fallen asleep before putting on his pajamas the night before. He ran to the entrance of the flat after grabbing his keys and books. When he had his sandals on, he exited and jumped through the roofs as fast as he could until finally reaching his destination. His old school looked the same as it always did. As soon as he entered the main corridor, he could already spot a brown head of hair on the other end of it. The moment he heard the man's footsteps, the brunet turned to him looking everything but pleased. The approaching man wore an apologetic face.
"I was starting to think you'd never show up" He teased hitting his forehead with folded documents.
He lifted his hand. "I'm sorry."
The man smiled. "Let's get started?"
The blonde grinned following the older man to the classroom in front of them. Naruto sat on the first row of chairs and placed the books on the table in front of him. The other man put the documents he had before on the teacher's table and took a scroll from his belt. "You remember the scroll you asked if I could find?" Naruto nodded. "I couldn't find it, but I came upon this one instead." He placed in front of his student.
"Same topic?"
"Hm, more or less. This one has a greater focus on chackra infusion." The young man beamed as he answered. "That's perfect. Thanks a lot, Iruka-sensei."
"I'm glad I could help."
The student started opening one of the books he brought on a marked page. He was immediately focused on it. The older man admired the sight. Some years ago, he would have never thought his most hyperactive student could stay still and concentrated while reading or studying. He pondered a bit before interrupting the blonde. "I never knew you were interested in chackra control… Or is it because Sakura's birthday is tomorrow?"
The man would be lying if he said the idea didn't cross his mind, but he feigned indifference and kept on making notes on the book. "Nope, I just want to feel ready when I take the exam. I want to move forward. Can't be the only chuunin if I'm aiming to become Hokage." There was another reason behind it, but sensei didn't have to know for now.
Iruka smiled and went to his own desk.
Each of them kept working on their duties for the rest of the morning, stopping only when they heard someone knock on the door.
It was the teacher who answered. "Come in!" Naruto didn't even lift his head from the book. It must be some memo for Iruka, as usual.
The sound of high heels proved him wrong. He immediately tensed. At this point he knew the footfalls of everyone who worked at the academy and not one of them wore high heels like those. He looked up. She never visited at this time of the day.
She stood by the door, wearing a fake smile. Something was definitely wrong. "Hello, Iruka-sensei. I'm sorry to interrupt."
"Oh, it's you, Sakura. How are you doing?"
"Everything's fine, thank you. I was wondering if I could borrow Naruto for a bit." She looked at the young man expectantly. He nodded. She was most definitely not fine. Her nails were short to the cob. He only ever remembered biting her nails when they were on particularly difficult missions or when something grave happened. The last time he remembered her hands looking like that was during the war. He got up and pretended to be oblivious to the apparent gravity of the situation.
"See you later, sensei! If we take a little longer, could you keep the books today?"
"Of course. See you later!"
They both left the room. Naruto closed the door and followed Sakura down the hall. None of them uttered a word. He kept following her until they reached the roof of the hospital. She probably came here when she was stressed now. She sat on the edge of the roof with her legs dangling over the edge. He sat next to her and waited for her to start the conversation.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you." She said with a conflicted look.
"Don't worry about it. It was lunch time anyway." She nodded.
He stared at the scenery in front of them. It was a nice view. The hospital was on the higher part of Konoha. You could seem the huge forest unravelling right in front of the village. Sakura took a deep breath. He heard her tremble already.
"Sakura-"
"They found him on the edge of the village. You know Lady Tsunade is out on a mission." Naruto nodded. "Well, since she isn't here and Shizune is with her, they out me in charge. The kid was so bloody. He fell. He fell from the top of the wall. We still don't know how he managed to climb up there. He was so tiny." She paused, taking another deep breath. "His ribcage was completely destroyed. I couldn't save him. I was too slow." The tears started flowing from her eyes. "I-I should've saved him. The war's over. Kids shouldn't have to die this young. I failed him. And his parents. Oh my god, they were so heartbroken." She started sobbing.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto hugged her. "Sakura-chan, this isn't your fault. You did your best."
"I'm sorry. I know I should be used to it. But he was barely four." She tried to control her breathing but failed.
"It's ok, just get it out." He whispered.
She sobbed clinging to him while he stroked her hair. When she was calmer, she continued. "I'm sorry I only come to you for stuff like this…"
"I know you've been busy."
"Still. We should hang out more."
He nodded. She reluctantly let go of him and cleaned her tears with her sleeve.
"How's Sasuke?" He asked.
She shrugged. "How would I know?"
"You guys still fighting, huh?"
She shrugged again. "We would be fighting if he ever answered my letters. And don't pretend like you're not mad too."
"I'm not."
"I know you, Naruto. I can tell you are."
"You sure you're not projecting?"
She laughed. "Wow, didn't know you knew such a hard word."
"Sakura-chan!"
She grinned and he chuckled joining her. "I'm not mad. I just wish he would let us get closer to him." He answered in a more serious tone. She sighed. "Yeah, I feel the same."
The wind played with her bangs and her braid was blown to her front. Her hair came down to her waist now. The short haired Sakura of the Great Ninja War already seemed like a distant dream. After a few moments, she spoke, still notoriously dispirited. "How are your studies going?"
"They're fine. But I don't know, I wish I could be on the field instead." She kept looking at the distance while he spoke. "And the hospital?" He only noticed what he'd just asked after he blurted it out. His eyes suddenly panicked. Sakura gave him a forced smiled in comprehension.
"Other than today it's going fine. But I have to keep training. I know we're in peace, but I wanna help as many people as I can."
Naruto smiled. They stood in silence next to one another for a while longer until Sakura decided to speak. "I should probably get going." Naruto agreed and they went their way.
Naruto darted up panting and sweating. He hugged his knees and leaned his head on them trying to calm his breathing. When he managed to calm down, he checked his alarm clock. 2.30am. He had managed to sleep three hours. It was better than usual. He turned on the lamp and stretched on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He looked at the scroll on his bedside table, pondering whether he should start reading it or not. He opted for the latter and concentrated on the ceiling. However, half an hour later, he figured he wouldn't fall asleep.
The man got up and put on his mission clothes, the ones he chose after he ruined the orange jumpsuit he had bought with his deceased master. He managed to find a similar pair of pants, but decided to go with a more discreet jacket, black with orange buttons and three horizontal orange stripes on the bottom. He would become the orange Hokage, of course, but he wasn't sixteen anymore. He could wear something more serious. He wrapped his weapon bag to his leg, grabbed the scroll siting on the table and headed out.
It took him twenty minutes to get to the training grounds. He walked until he reached his favourite area but to his surprise someone was already there. He thought he might be hallucinating when he spotted Sakura with her eyes closed sitting with her legs crossed close to the river. She didn't even notice him arriving. He cleared his throat hoping that she would hear him, but nothing. He crouched in front of her.
"Sakura-chan?" He whispered. "Sakura." He tried calling a little louder.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes in surprise and instinctively punched him. Fortunately to him, it was a normal punch. She hadn't used chackra, but he still groaned form the pain to the stomach. When she realized it was him, she was even more confused. "Huh? Naruto?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Please, don't hit me again."
"Oh, my god! I'm so sorry! What are you doing here? I thought you were a bandit or something!" She pulled him to her and lifted his shirt. "Let me see that." He didn't resist. Her hands soon started glowing green and he took a look at her face. She seemed tired and her eyes were bloodshot.
"Sakura-chan, you need to rest." He muttered, still looking at her.
"I could tell you the same." She retorted nonchalantly before she stopped the flow of chackra going into her hands and pulled his shirt down. "There. You won't get a bruise now."
He mumbled a thanks but kept looking at her. This time, she stared back at him. "What?" She asked. The man moved to sit next to her and leaned on her teasingly. "What?!" She grinned.
He smiled but spoke with a serious tone. "You should get some sleep. I can see you're tired."
She sighed and put a bit of her weight on his side. "I know. But I keep thinking…"
Naruto looked at her, waiting for the girl to continue. She shot him a glance and turned her gaze to the river again. "I keep having these dreams about the war…" She muttered timidly. "My parents, they… They don't get it. I keep seeing people dying and I can't do anything. I feel so useless."
He stared at the ground in front of him for a while before he took a deep breath. "I have them too. The nightmares." She looked at him in surprise. His hands were trembling. "It's always someone dying in front of me. And I'm trapped in a jutsu. I can't do anything. Just watch them die."
She shifted her gaze to stare at the moon and leaned her head on his shoulder. Not long after, he leaned his head on top of hers and both of them fell asleep. They woke up the next morning and Naruto was late to meet with Iruka again.