JOURNEY. || haruno sakura

01

****

It was a brand new day for the people of Konoha. The hospital smelled like medicine, and the pinkette wriggled on her bed like a worm, trying to avoid the sunlight from the window.

"Unh..." Sakura awoke from her slumber, rubbing her eyes whilst sitting up. There was a bandage on her cheek and one wrapped around her head, covering her right eye. Other than the bandages on her left hand and scratches scattered on her body, her physical body was fine unlike her mental.

Sakura was in a daze. The scene of her parents' homicides rewinded in her head like a broken cassette tape, almost as if it was taunting her. As it looped, she thought about every single possible thing she could've done to prevent the tragedy, whatever her frail body could manage, but it was fruitless.

She sunk into her form, her hands covering her ears. All she wanted was to hide and just for everything to be merely a bad dream. The pinkette broke into cold sweat, and her breathing grew shallow.

The faces of the perpetrators surfed into her thoughts, the names mentioned during the whole scene stuck into her mind like glue. Sakura could remember every single detail about that night, her mother's tremulous voice vivid.

Sakura was struggling to process the mess in her mind until the door was pushed open. It was a masked figure, but she quickly realized it was the one who saved her yesterday.

"Are you alright?" He inquired, his voice indifferent as he closes the door behind her. It seemed like he was interrogating her, but Sakura was oblivious. She buried her lower face into her arms as her body tucked in and nodded as a sign of yes.

"I shouldn't be here, but I'm here to tell you that some people are going to ask you many questions about last night. Be honest until you think it's enough knowledge for them, okay?" He rested his hand on Sakura's shoulders, almost as if he was reassuring her despite his hidden expression under the mask.

"Why did you come if you shouldn't be here then?" Sakura grew curious, and lifted her face from her arms, staring into his mask. "...I have a cute little brother about the same age as you. Considering what happened to you might happen to him one day made me feel a little sad, so I'll help you whenever I can," He honestly answered Sakura, shocking her a little.

"Just our little secret. I'll show you my face in return," His hand caressed his mask, and Sakura's eyes widened in interest. The boy lifted his mask, and Sakura immediately leaned in to study his features.

He had raven hair that complimented his pitch black eyes and rather apparent tear-troughs under his eyes. He looked about three or four years older than her, and before Sakura could assess further he grinned and rested the mask once again on his face.

"Sorry for your loss. Perhaps we'll see each other again later." He passed his condolences to her and left through the window, disappearing in a flash. She decided to give his reminders some thought before she was dragged for investigation sometime after she was good enough to walk.

Sakura buried her face in her arms again, and felt her cheeks grow warmer. She wondered what it would feel like to have such a caring sibling.

****

It was two weeks after the pinkette's release from the hospital, and she was dragged into one of Konoha's Intelligence Division's interrogation rooms as soon as she did.

It was endless questions about the supposed operation to bait Konoha merchants into sealing a deal with them then coerce their clients to increase their ridiculous prices.