Road to Ninja: Fallen Petals, a Naruto fanfiction
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
A/N: Hey fellow readers! So I've recently been re-watching Naruto again for the first time in a while (blame lockdown boredom where I live) and I had an itch to write a quick two-shot story. So this takes place during the Road to Ninja Movie (in my opinion, the best Naruto movie of the bunch, you can fight me on that one lol) on the third night of the movie's timeline right before the attack on the village just after Naruto and Sakura's conversation in the alleyway. Let's say for argument's sake, the attack was postponed a day later due to Madara/Menma wanting an extra tactical advantage/planning. I was going to place this during the 2nd night (where Naruto has dinner with his parents and flips through the photo album) but I thought for more emotional impact, it be better here (plus added a bit more dialogue). With that tidbit out the way, let's go!
Part 1: Family
Haruno Sakura was wrong. The shock of seeing her once former comrade, the boy she had feelings for deeply giving a flower to another woman had been the final blow to her already confused heart. It was bad enough knowing that her parents, the ones she had taken out her anger on just a few days before were now dead.
But this, this was the final straw.
She ran off in the opposite direction from where 'Sasuke' had been surrounded by other women.
Relax, baby. No matter what I'll always be here for you.
Those exact same words had been given to her the day before. Now, they just felt like broken glass ready to be stepped on and cut her already crushed soul into more and more pieces. She was now feeling anger, sadness, and confusion all at once. How could she have been so foolish to believe that this life could be any better than the one she had left behind?
The raven-haired boy looked up for a moment. He could have sworn he had felt the presence of someone familiar to him, but he couldn't tell who it as. His attention returned to the brunette haired girl he had given the flower to.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I was wrong, so wrong!" She said to herself as she raced off in the direction of Naruto's house. She did her best to hold back tears; was it worth crying over this fake Sasuke?
Sakura knew she had been selfish and she wanted to put things right. She ran across the rooftops, hoping Naruto would be alright. That he would be able to forgive her. Please be alright, please…
The pink-haired kunoichi had landed in front his house. The streets were quiet, distant, nothing but the cold night air to accompany the silence. Gotta get back to our own world… She walked slowly up the stairs. With the lights on, she wondered what all the commotion could be about. Was he about to eat dinner? Or was it concerning the mission they had completed to achieve the Red Moon Scroll? As she walked closer to the door, she just wondered what she was going to say. Would she say it in front of his parents? Would they believe her? Or would it fall on deaf ears? Only one way to find out.
"I'm sorry Naruto, we should-!" Sakura stopped in front of the window in shock. Inside the home were the trio of Naruto, Minato, and Kushina, all laughing and having a good time. The room was decorated with paper chains and roses on the walls. The table in front of them was decorated with a massive cake with candles accompanied by a selection of sandwiches and meats. It wasn't Kushina's birthday, Sakura had remembered it was early on in the year from documentation she had read, and judging by how the sun had set, this was close to being at least September.
Who am I kidding? It just looks like they wanted to have a family night to celebrate the mission's success…I remember mine did the same for me when I first came back from the Land of Waves… What an emotional time that had been for Sakura. Almost being killed by one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, almost losing both Naruto and Sasuke; the celebration for success had been needed.
Naruto looked like he had been laughing at a dumb joke his dad had just told. Sakura had seen him laugh many times before, however, something about this laugh was different. Different from the ones he had with his friends at a barbecue or hanging out. This was one a curious smile to it; the smile of a happy child spending time with his family. Something he had always wanted to do, but never had the chance to.
"Okay, okay, I'm gonna blow them out." Kushina said as she leaned forward towards her brightly-lit cake. With one long huff and puff, she blew out all the candles, not realizing she accidentally blew off the top layer of cake too. Frosting and decorations flew in both directions hitting the guys and making a mess of the table as well.
Minato and Naruto couldn't hold it in seeing all the mess she had made and began laughing at her.
"Haha, oh darling wife of mine, you never fail to amuse me!" Minato chuckled with a piece of frosting now stuck on his face.
"Hey, I did blow them out you know!" Kushina pouted in response. She stroked her husband's face with her forefinger and licked the frosting off it.
"Yeah, and then some!" Naruto chortled with happiness. "Now how about a big slice for me? I've not had cake in like forever."
"Forever?" His mother questioned. "It was only your Dad's birthday a couple of weeks ago, I'd hardly call that forever…" She peered down at the mess she had made. "Now how we gonna eat that?"
Minato grinned. "Why don't we start with a bowl and a spoon and see how far we get?"
"Hmph!" Naruto frowned. "But that means no one gets a slice."
"Exactly. You know what they say about too much sugar…"
As Minato went to get some cutlery, Sakura stepped away from the window. Seeing Naruto truly happy like this was something that she felt she could never take away from him. He had always wanted something like that. After years and years of being ignored, bullied, and abused, all because he had been the jinchuruki for the nine-tailed fox, what right did she have to take this all away from him? Her head was now even more confused than before; she didn't want to ruin this moment for him. Before stepping down the stairs, she reached into her back pocket, scribbled a little note, gently folded it, and placed it underneath the door. Sakura had to go clear her head before telling him what she wanted.
As she walked away Naruto looked up at the window from his bowl of cake. Had Sakura just been there?
"Something wrong Menma?" The older blonde asked his offspring.
"Oh…um…" The name Menma he still wasn't used to. "I thought there was someone outside, must've been just the wind." Naruto finished his dessert and put his bowl on the side of the sink to be washed.
"Thank you so much for the food! I've not had a decent meal since I left-I mean, I needed that after that perilous mission today." He said smiling at his parents. He didn't want to keep up this façade, however, the wrong slip of the tongue could cause more harm than good at the moment.
"You're very welcome," Kushina replied sweetly. "Would you like some after-dinner green tea or hot chocolate?"
As much as the extra item of food sounded nice to him, he couldn't help but feel like he had to be elsewhere right now. "No thanks, I'm gonna go meet with Sakura-chan. She says she needs some help with some studying and I agreed to help." An obvious lie, he told himself. It did feel like Sakura was just here, he just had to be sure.
His mother sniggered. "Ah, you sure it's not more than just 'studying'? Are you just using this excuse to play it cool with her? Dating maybe…."
Naruto turned slightly red "No nothing like that…it's just something important she's working on and she needs all the help she can get right now. And I always look out for those in need. " Knowing her, she's probably lonely as anything right now…
Minato and Kushina both looked at each other, nodding in silence. "You really are my son aren't you?" Minato said. "Always looking after your comrades and never giving up on them, you definitely established your way of the ninja early."
Naruto smiled softly. It was nice to hear some praise and encouragement from them. Iruka-sensei had done the same thing for him back at the academy. Speaking of Iruka, he couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of pain in his chest with the thought crossed his mind. Where was he in this world? Dead? And what about the one back in his own world? He had felt bad for badmouthing him at Ichiraku's.
"Okay, but don't make it too late getting back and be careful. We've got the day off tomorrow because of all our hard work today and I figured we could have the whole day together in the village as a family. Won't that be great?"
A whole day. Together as a family. No missions. No enemies. No distractions. Just the three of them. Something Naruto had been wanting his whole life. How long though until he found Madara and would be able to get back to his own world? Would one more day with his family really hurt? Chances like this didn't come very often.
"Sure." He replied. "That'll be great. I won't be too long, promise."
He ran out of the room and noticed the piece of paper sticking under the door. He immediately picked it up and read it.
Sakura. She had asked him to meet him at the familiar alleyway, the same one for their genin missions.
Hey all, I thought it would be easier for me to turn this into a two-shot cuz of pacing, and in addition, I had to watch Road to Ninja a few times while writing just to get the dialogue. In addition, I wanted to expand on the cake scene too. Part 2 will be up sometime tomorrow. Let me know your thoughts.
