Reviewers:
BirdManJohn: Yep! Back from my trip and ready to continue writing it out. Look below to AN #0 to be assured.
Samm91: I stopped watching at the episode detailing the Sharingan with Sasuke Vs. Kabuto. So many fillers and I recently looked up what happened and I'd have been watching for 4 years and 140 more episodes if I had! NaruSaku for the Win!
Second: Sam, didn't you always want that summer fling with a girl (Guy if case Sam is for Samantha :)) No strings, cares? And at end of summer you have to decide the what ifs? This IS that story. Also, Ino is ALWAYS the GOAT in my stories. She's the best friend, flirty, inwardly sensitive, and ALWAYS the 2nd choice for Naruto to marry if Sakura died because the two are SO alike.
Mario 64: Oh my man! I did that a long time ago. READ my story Sorakage! That's my version. Seriously! I've done it. ORRR...(Shameless plug) Buy my real Book, Passion In Life, by Tim B. Wolfe! That in itself is it's own Movie in the making (at least I'd hope so)
Seros109: Oh my gosh Seros! You're in Germany? Just that international slip makes my day! I'm so glad to give you a story that meets your tastes. Never have I seen Doc Hollywood, but might AFTER I complete my story. (Don't want to make it a copy and all that) Your Christ in the review shows your shock at my little detail in there. Hope you love my story to its conclusion.
AN #0: To assuage Everyone, I ALWAYS complete my stories that I decide to Post. I promise myself and my followers in every story. Look at my track record! Proof is in my Profile of stories. Don't fret. I will write this out.
AN: Hey All! I'm back from my Vacation- ahem...I mean, Research Trip! Yeah, I went to Ireland and Scotland, and wow, the differences! No Hustle culture, the serving staff Actually Dress UP to serve you- Now That's Service! USA needs to do that to get me to Tip even 10%. But Wow, the countryside, the old traditions, they made me think of this story and all of you, my faithful readers.
Now, To end Arc 0. A little fun, a little sad, but Please! Don't get Mad! This is another tearjerker that made me write this out in tears, so everyone, PLEASE ENJOY!
Glazed Emeralds: A Hallmark Story
Chapter 19: Just be You, and Everything will be Alright
"Sakura? Sakura, come on. Wake up. We're here." A young eighteen year old Ino coaxed the girl's shoulder beside her. Sakura opened her puffy red eyes, her first vision being a snowed out road with small town buildings passing by on either side. She grinned sourly against the frosted glass window of the truck. She was home.
"Damn tourists took my spot as usual." Ino muttered in the twilight hours of the morning, turning off to park them in an alleyway between the marketplace and the land office. Sakura shuttered as Ino stepped out, the biting cold slipping in through the gap and slammed the door shut, before she too made her way, albeit much quieter and somber out of the vehicle that brought her to safety.
The two girls stomped through the snow on the ground, Sakura grimly relishing how much she missed this, how even though it was exhausting to push through the snow, it was always fun for her. The two made it to the road, where hundreds of cars lay parked haphazardly alongside buildings and anywhere that was open. None were moving, but it was only six in the morning.
"Oh hell!" Sakura heard Ino curse and turn back. "I don't think I locked the door on my way out last night at all." Sakura watched in growing shock as Ino moved to the side door of the land office and inserted her keys.
"Y-you live in town now?" Sakura whispered, the snow sending her voice everywhere. Ino had lived with her parents in the biggest house the town had when she had left. Ino turned to walk back and smiled.
"Above the land office, yeah. Daddy surprised me a week after graduation. He had renovated the back and everything. Wanted me to have my own place and all." Ino smiled sourly. "And it's connected to the general store so he'll probably ask me soon enough to work there too."
Sakura stayed silent as she talked, and Ino looked at her in faux excitement. "I'm on my own in the world, Sakura!...even if Daddy is just a mile down the road."
Sakura didn't smile at her joke as they pressed into the roadway. Ino frowned beside her as they reached the doorway to the Inn. Sakura had changed, but it was alright. Ino was here now. She'd help her friend out in any way she could.
Opening the door, Sakura stepped inside and stalled. The hundred-year-old mahogany wood panels of the reception room, the creaky desk that she had manned since she was ten, and most important, standing there waiting for her was her mother.
"Mom?" Sakura teared up again, and raced forward, her mother holding her tightly to her chest as Sakura whimpered and sniffled into her. Ino, watching from behind, sighed happily, and even jealously. She hadn't gotten nearly that reaction after months apart.
"Welcome home sweetheart."
"How'd you know I was coming?"
Her mother frowned, plucking at her daughter's rogue hair to push it back in place. "Ino called me as she raced to get you. She sounded pretty erratic so I stayed up just in case. You okay, sweetheart?" Sakura shook her head into her chest and her mother squeezed tighter. "Well, the house is upstairs as always. How about you get some rest? I'll be up once the initial checkout is done." Sakura nodded humbly, and moved up the stairs to the second floor.
Ino turned to Sakura's mother, who was like another mom to her after her mother died when she was twelve. Even before then, her parents had always sent Ino and the other kids here to play inside on the heavy blizzard days. It was in time, close to the school and well...they had the room. The area above the Haruno Inn was one massive inside area of fun, and they felt warm and cozy when the temperature might have killed them outside.
"How was she, Ino? On the way back?"
Ino's lips wobbled. She was struggling just to keep calm. "She can barely complete her thoughts. S-she can't even laugh at my jokes! I mean I-"
"Shh Ino." Sakura's mother calmed and hugged Ino, rubbing her back as the eighteen year old sniffled too. "She's depressed. From what I can surmise, that boy broke her heart."
"From her mumblings, I think he was cheating on her and treating her like trash."
"Then all the better, Ino, that she's back in good hands."
Ino grimaced. "But didn't the doctor say your condition got worse? With your pneumonia last month?"
Sakura's mother smiled. "They did. I may only have a few more months, which honestly makes me happier to have her for a little longer, but I'm here until the bitter end. Just promise me something."
"Anything."
"Just be there for my daughter."
Ino sniffled, and grinned bitterly. "Wherever she goes, I go. She's not leaving me behind again."
Sakura glimpsed the last of the snow melting off the road as she looked out the window of her mother's room. Had four months passed already? She'd done her best to be happy, to talk. People had come to visit her often, and with Ino's help, she'd finally gone out on a hike. She had found comfort and solace being around her mother at home, and felt the corners of her face curling up when she was resting in her arms, but that didn't mean anything right now.
The silence of the room permeated everyone in it. Sakura turned back with watery eyes, spotting Ino right beside her holding her hand. Her father stood off to the side, a few of her mother's friends sat in chairs or against the wall. The Inn was packed with mourners, and her mother lay in her bed, frail and ready to move on to the next life.
"Mom…" Sakura whispered, her mother turning to look at her and smiled. The doctor had said that she wouldn't last the night, and so she had asked for everyone to join her at the Inn, a little alive at the last moment celebration of life. She always did these kinds of things throughout Sakura's life, moments of no planning or preparation. Just come by and have smores, or talk on life, or...live in the moment. She loved her mother's gusto in life.
Her friends talked about her antics growing up, her love life with Sakura's father, how she was so excited to have a child that she ran around town for weeks telling anyone that would listen. All these happy memories flooded around the entirety of the Inn as stories were told, but Sakura only sat there beside her, holding onto her desperately.
"Mom…"
"Sakura...this is your time now."
"I don't want to let you go."
"Oh Sweetheart. I'm always within you. Just as your father told me on our wedding day, I say to you. Every time you smile, you'll remember me. I'm so proud of you." Her mother chuckled as Sakura's other hand gripped Ino's tightly, the poor girl holding in whimpers from the death grip Sakura had. "I've always been proud of you. You are perfect just the way you are. Don't let anyone change that."
"But Mom-"
"Don't follow someone who wants you to change. Find a guy you can be yourself with, who can accept you for you…" Her mother chuckled, "or stay single and enjoy life...just be you, and everything will be alright."
"Sakura….Sakura…." Sakura struggled to look back up at her, her eyes straining to not close shut to the world. "Please...for me."
Sakura nodded rapidly as her mother smiled and closed her eyes, her breath growing heavy with every few seconds she had remaining.
"I promise! I promise…"
Two days later, the doors to the Inn opened, and rain and lightning cascaded inside like a waterfall upon rock. The people who entered shrugged off their heavy raincoats onto one of the many hooks along the wall and moved towards the staircase, before opening the door at the top and stepping into a large living space.
"It's pouring out there like crazy!" One of the men cursed. "Dang near slipped down a ravine on my way here."
"Are you hurt, Asuma?" A black haired woman walked over, caressing his arm fondly. The other occupants in the room sighed and giggled at the latest couple's lovedove reactions, but they were twenty two and in love, so nothing to do about it.
"Don't worry about me, Kuri. One good smoke and I'll be-"
"You told me you quit!" Kurenai suddenly lashed out, smacking his hand that had come out with a cigarette.
As the couple went on, the room grew back to its somber state. This was the meeting place for the town meetings after all. It was old and worn, the furniture was well used for two decades at this point, but it was inside, warm, and until this year, had held back the saddened moods of the town during the monsoon spring that happened every year.
They could have used the land office, but some of the town hated how fancy and elitist it looked, and muddy boots like now would not be allowed in that fine establishment, no thank you. Instead, they all came to the Haruno Inn, where the laughter of their children had been heard for generations.
"So then...how should we begin this end of season meeting?" Old man Sarutobi coughed out. He was the mayor of their city, and had done a great job, but after thirty years as mayor, everyone wondered just who would take his place when he stepped down or passed on.
"The hiking tours during the season were pretty busy." Asuma spoke back to his father, settling down on an old couch, with Kurenai beside him.
"Not as busy as we'd have liked." Kiba called over from along the back wall, a young bull in the sea of men.
"That's because they all stayed in Suna. Suna this and Suna that. The first half of my tours had me telling them of places to go around Suna! I'm sick of that county stealing our tours!"
"Yeah! They have other industries to do!"
"...Like having a hotel?" Hinata whispered, and suddenly the atmosphere dimmed. "Sorry!" She squeaked. "I-I didn't m-mean to-"
"It's alright, Hinata." Sarutobi smiled over to the seventeen year old senior in her last months of high school. The mayor looked over at everyone and got serious. "She's right though, everyone. Maybe it didn't matter as much before but in the last ten years, in this age of digitalization and word of mouth, this Inn has grown to become our most powerful symbol of what Konoha represents."
"Asuma, where do people say they found you for the tours for their families?"
"...At the reception desk."
"And Higarashi-San, where do people say you were recommended from for your orders for steel swords and armors?"
"...by Haruno-san…"
A moment passed in silence. They all missed their dear friend…
"The truth is that Haruno-San gave everyone here business. The reason people aren't staying in our county is because we have no restaurants or places to stay. It is true that this Inn has received superb reviews on….Yelp?" Sarutobi turned to the younger crowd who grinned and nodded. "We get many customers who leave happy."
"What I am about to tell you came from Haruno-San." Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Every room she had these last four years were booked solid."
"What? But then why-"
"She had to turn down business because of the lack of space. What we would need is to retrofit and expand this Inn to the abandoned buildings next to it. We need to add some eateries and keep the people here. Day trips are wonderful and we are by far the best destination from Suna, but multi-day tourism is what we need to thrive from here on out."
"...Who would run all that?" Came a voice in the dark. Quiet murmurs sounded across the room until Sarutobi spoke up again.
"I don't know. I know all of you have a lot on your plates. Our population has gone down and I know most of you have two businesses to run already. Perhaps...we could put up ads online for a manager for the Inn?"
"Haruno-San didn't take a paycheck. She just took the profit at the end of the year."
"No one knows how to run this place!"
"Is the town going to die out?!"
"Do we need to move, mama?"
"Excuse me, everyone." A soft voice called out among the clamoring cacophony as the inner door opened. All eyes turned to watch as Ino held the door and on two trays came Sakura into the room. Immediately, all talk ceased. They shouldn't talk about the property of the girl's mother in front of her. She'd been through enough already. In fact, for most of the town, her words just now had been the first time they'd heard her voice in just over a year.
"Yes, Sakura?" Sarutobi smiled at the young woman. Black circles coated her eyes, and her body quaked with grief every few seconds, but he could see it. She had been getting better since the five months she'd been back from the outside world.
"I uh…" Sakura whispered, before looking away, making everyone want to rush forward and hug her.
"She made everyone some food." Ino finished for her friend. "She thought you guys would be hungry and with the storm and all, something hot to warm you up."
Happy smiles adorned everyone's face as the girls began to hand out the various plates to everyone. "That's a wonderful idea. Thank you Sakura." Sarutobi smiled before looking at the tray Sakura showed him.
"So many varieties, Sakura."
Sakura shrugged at the small praise. "I'd suggest the light sauce. It's good for your heart condition."
Hiruzen's eyes crinkled at her concern. "Thank you for remembering."
"Wow!" Kiba exclaimed, sending Sakura jerking away as he beamed at her. "Sakura, this is amazing!"
"Mmm!" Hinata covered her mouth, swallowing it down. "Mine's great too!"
"How did you cut them so small?"
"Um…" Sakura bit her lip, but Ino rubbed her shoulder and nodded to encourage her to speak. "It's just knife work I learned in the city. I...I worked at a restaurant for a few months. The...owner taught me a lot."
"Well, this is the best food I've ever had! You could open a restaurant with this!" Young Konohamaru, a fifteen year old, called over. Sakura simply nodded in thanks and stepped back out of the room.
Silence was a welcome relief as everyone wondered about the previous discussion, savoring the small meal that tasted better than any dish they'd ever tried to make themselves. After the meal, Sakura stepped back out, wiping her hands along her apron, and as Sarutobi looked at her again, his eyes filled with an eagerness and mirth.
"Sakura...would you like to open a restaurant here? It would help the town grow stronger, and perhaps...it would help you feel needed here. What do you say?"
"Um…actually...I heard what you said...about the Inn…" Sakura whispered, but the mayor rushed to assuage her fears.
"Oh...don't worry, Sakura. That's why we want to expand outwards. You can keep your home here so don't-"
"No...I...um...I have some ideas for the Inn...I want to run it like my mom did…" She voiced, but the older population shared a nervous glance at each other. Even their own children weren't taking over full businesses after graduation. Sakura wasn't fully recovered; she'd lost something in the city, and they wanted her to prioritize on getting better first.
"Sakura...that's a big undertaking...that's a lot of work...shouldn't you take it easy? You've been through so much."
Sakura sniffled. "I...I want to...I watched everyone…working so hard this winter…while I did nothing…I can't just...sit around anymore...I want...I want this place to help the town...I want to do it...for my mother…"
"Well now…" Sarutobi smiled around the room. "She has seen and done everything in this Inn since she was a child, everyone. Shall we have Sakura run it this coming winter?"
A chorus of approval sounded, but Ino nudged her forward all the same, as Sakura took a deep breath. "Um...also...I had some ideas...about the renovation?"
"I don't know if we have the budget for that…"
"Sure we do!" Ino smiled, her eyes turning to her father. "Right Daddy?"
Her father frowned at his daughter, but everyone knew the answer. Ino Yamanaka, the star every play the town ever had, the one whose opinion echoed the hearts of everyone around her, the one who always got her way, and her poor father...was a pushover for his little girl…
A low whistle sounded in Sakura's ears, and she turned to see Ino ogling the fresh paint, new windows, and new areas of the Inn. Sakura's lips twitched.
"No fair, Sakura!" Ino groaned beside her. "I want a renovation too!"
The exterior had been gutted completely. Gone was the front garage for customers to park their cars, replaced by a wall of glimmering windows, extending into the once abandoned properties next door as the view looked into a fresh restaurant and bar with its own door with many more rooms behind it. The small little entrance to the main reception had burst open to seem like an expensive lobby, complete with a bunch of chairs around a booming fireplace for the cold months.
"Oh Ino! I can't believe we made it in time!" Sakura sighed in relief. Ino smiled at Sakura, who herself was happily stunned at her friend's generosity in the new build. Their gaze moved up, at the new level in the evolution of their burgeoning town.
Gone was the private second story that used to be her home, replaced by many new rooms looking down on the picturesque town and also within the inner patio with a garden of Eden inside of it. Now, a small covered inlet from the alley led directly into the courtyard, and to the stun of the village, Sakura had opened up the thermal springs to them, free of charge during the seasons besides winter. It was a welcome change for the girls, who couldn't wait to have beautiful skin treatments in the warm water.
Replacing her home was now just a small apartment for Sakura, who insisted that the extra rooms had tripled the capacity of the Inn, and that she could more easily run the Inn with the hallways and concept, and especially with her new private staircase, thanks to Ino's inclusion of that into her plan.
"Sakura?" Ino gasped, making the girl turn back. "You're smiling."
Everyone turned to see that indeed Sakura was smiling once again. It had taken them six months of hard work, many of them had spent days here; Sakura's promise of the springs and rooms during the wet monsoon season the only payment being a good motivation.
Sakura sniffled and jumped sideways, hugging her best friend in a vice grip around her neck. "I'm so happy, Ino! It's all thanks to you!"
"No big deal!" Ino chuckled nervously, as others in the small crowd rolled their eyes. Ino gulped back her nerves from her heavy risked discussion last night from her father came to her mind. This was only possible because Ino was risking her family's entire stake on the loaned outcome. Three businesses and a quarter of the land in the county as collateral in order for the bank of Suna next door to consider it. Ino's voice shivered. "Just...make a lot of money, okay?"
"I promise! I'll do my best!"
Ino blew lightly on the steam of her coffee, cooling it down as she took a sip and smiled. "Get lost. I'm not interested."
"But girl, you're hot!" The men gestured at her pullover, the long sleeves clinging to her skin as the hoop of material heaved with her burgeoning chest.
"Sorry, but...I'm taken."
"Damn...real shame." The guy shook his head, as he and his buddies in skis and heavy gear walked off.
Ino smiled as she looked around the restaurant. Business was truly booming, as the lines outside the door signaled more people waiting to be served. Sakura already had two of the teens, Konohamaru and Moegi, serving at the bar and handing out drinks. Ino knew from the ledger, being the top financier and all, that the rooms were entirely booked solid for the entire season, even with the tripling of capacity. Online reviews and the word of mouth had only grown from last year, and the townspeople wondered if they might rebuild the properties even further to build more business, though that would be years away.
One month into the heavy business season for the town, and Sakura's online reviews for the Inn were nearly all five stars. People praised her cooking, which an up and coming food reviewer had dropped in on to call heavenly, the amazement of a single girl doing all this work, and the radiant smile and rocking hot body of the new and luscious young owner.
"So Ino?" Sakura called over, bringing her meal over, before hugging her quickly. "Do you think I'll make a profit?"
"Your Mom would be so proud of you, Sakura." Ino smiled, and Sakura smiled back, before she disappeared into the crowd. Ino smiled wide as she took another sip.
More tourists were now coming for a dip in the springs too as a completely new revenue stream, so Sakura was up to her ears in work. She didn't have time to chat with her best friend in the hell season that was winter. But Ino didn't mind. Just her presence made Ino glad that she was back.
Seeing the fake smile she sent the customer's way made Ino pause though. It wasn't too fake; it was genuine and she was happy, but Ino knew that she was on the road to regaining her true self. Ino slid her finger along the rim of her coffee cup, idling watching her friend in action.
Now if she could only find a man.
(Present)
Sakura smiled fondly as she sat on her bed, her emotions raw and clean of the grime that had coated her heart for six years. Sakura brought the phone up to her ear, the phone ringing on the other end as she turned back to glance at her apartment door. She had stripped after her dip in the pool with her lover, and now sat with her towel wrapped around her body, enveloping her in a radiant warmth.
Maybe it wasn't just the towel; Naruto had warmed her heart this night. She was just going to connect with the answering machine on the other end; she wasn't ready to talk to them after so long apart. She just had the urge…the urge to call them after all this time.
"Hello…Sakura?" Sakura's breath hitched at the heavy masculine voice of her favorite boss. "...Sakura?"
"H-Hey Boss…I just-"
"Oh Dear! Come here! Sakura's alright!...She's on the phone line."
"Sakura?"
"H-Hey Mrs-"
"Oh It's good to hear your voice!"
Sakura sniffled as the old couple blabbered on the other line, feeling their heartwarming voices pulled her back to their restaurant from long ago. "How are you dear? You doing alright?"
Sakura smiled. "...I'm sorry I left without notice….I went back home to my mom….you were right….Yes….Yes…..A-Actually, I run an Inn now…..Boss….I have a restaurant too…..Oh!..." Sakura's eyes shimmered as she pulled the phone closer. "...No…..no, I'd love for you two to come up and see me….of course….that date….works for me…."
AN: Okay, PLEASE tell me you guys choked up reading this? I seriously teared up with every word I wrote for this chapter