JOURNEY. || haruno sakura

00

****

It was a normal day in Konoha. The birds were chirping, and the leaves rustled as the wind swayed. The sun's glow embraced the village a particular pinkette called home.

Haruno Sakura, a curious and timid five year old about to be six who spends time mostly by herself. She is constantly picked on by other children for her notably large forehead much to her dismay.

Her little feet stomped on the dirt ground, as she strolls through the forest. She didn't have to worry about getting lost in the forest, as she's been exploring it in and out since she could barely read.

If she didn't know better, perhaps she would consider the forest her second home. It is thoroughly more comfy being there, listening to nature rather than other people.

As she usually does, Sakura explores new spots in the vast forest to find more rare (maybe poisonous, but she doesn't let that get to her) and unique species of flowers to add to her collection. Other than finding flowers, she liked making patterns with her chakra, climbing trees and carving things into the ground. Y'know, just normal children activities.

"Hmmm.." She hummed a cheery tune as she inspected everything slightly interesting and walking around.

Sakura finally lands her sight on a blue tinted flower and crouches down to it's level while playing around with it's petals. Satisfied, she gently plucks the flower and stuffs it inside her little bag.

"I can't wait to show this to mum!" She cooed. She skipped away further into the forest, and finds a calm river. Sakura giggled, laid down her small bag next to the trees and picked up some flat rocks.

She sat down, and decided to try balancing the rocks. It's fun to do in Sakura's opinion.

She managed to balance only four rocks before the monument collapsed, to her dismay. She decided to skip them instead, and immediately got over to the river. One of them managed to get far with 7 skips, much to her satisfaction.

The pinkette looked up to the sky, and gasped. The sky was already lit with scattered orange and blue tones. She hustled over to her bag, hoisted it up to her shoulders and ran out of the forest in a hurry.

Not wasting any time, Sakura rushed home. She was worried that her parents would be upset again, but what she should discover as she returns would make a drastic turn upon her life.

****

Sakura was sweating. The last time she returned at dusk, her mother grounded her for a whole week and made sure to nag her every time she would see her. She shivered every time she was reminded of the nagging.

In particular, it isn't that she doesn't enjoy being grounded. It gives her an actual reason to not leave home, and she loves spending her time reading books.

Nervous, Sakura slowly turned the doorknob, gritting her teeth. Slightly slamming the door open, she took a deep breath and exclaimed,

"I'm home!"

"...."

"....?"

Sakura gazed into the quiet house, expecting an answer. "Hello? Mum? Dad?" She took off her shoes and placed the pair down on the shoe rack. She carefully examined each section of her home, and came to the conclusion no one was home.

It is unusual that they weren't home. Sometimes her father returns a little late from work and her mother would take short notice grocery runs but both would never take so long it would already be night when they returned.