Sakura Blossoms - SasuSaku

Chapter 3

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Sakura

As Sakura exited the baggage claim area of the airport she immediately spotted her friends Ino and Hinata waving a huge sign written in sharpie that read "HERE FOR SAKURA HARUNO. THE QUEEN OF POP" and she actually laughed out loud. As she rushed over to them they simultaneously embraced her in the biggest bear hug of her life. As she pulled away from them to look at their faces she was immediately brought back to the years spent with these wonderful humans. From daycare to highschool they had been the three amigos, and always would be when they reunited.

Ino spoke first, loudly exclaiming "Saku we've missed you so much!" in the highest pitch she could manage.

"About time you made your way back to us!" Hinata added happily.

"My heart never left, sisters." Sakura beamed, "I'm so happy to see your smiling faces!"

We hugged again and then her friend's faces turned serious.

"I'm so sorry about your dad Saku," Ino said solemnly.

"Me too, Saku. We're here for you." Hinata added.

Sakura just gives them a sad smile and says "Let's get out of here, I'm ready to go home."

~

When they arrived at Sakura's house it was eerily quiet, which made her frown. The home she remembered growing up was always loud and rambunctious between the family's flower shop and Sakura's constant song and dance. She longed for the years when her father was healthy and strong, always following her around the house with a camera smiling proudly. He knew before anyone else that his little girl would be a star. He pushed her harder than anyone towards her dreams and gave her the confidence to start her music career. He even redid the basement of their house into a bedroom/recording studio for her when she was still in middle school.

She had been making music in some shape or form for as long as she could remember. She taught herself to play the keyboard in fifth grade and started actually writing songs soon after. Her first song was special because it was for her dad. She was young and inexperienced so it wasn't super well written, but it came from her deepest heart. He of course loved it and eventually had her record it for him in her studio years later. He still used it as his ringtone on his cell. That made her smile.

That smile soon fell when she walked into her dads room and saw how small he looked. Her mother sitting by his bedside holding his hand and saying something to him in a quiet voice she couldn't quite make out. As soon as they noticed her standing in the doorway they smiled and welcomed her home. Tears started to fall from Sakura's eyes when her mother rushed over and hugged her tightly. She then walked over to her dad and smiled down at him through tears, leaning down to hug him the best she could in his hospital bed.

"Look how much you've changed and matured in the three years you've been away, my flower," her father said raspily.

To be fair I had changed a lot over the years. I chopped my long pink hair to my shoulders, pierced my cartilage, and had a small tattoo peeking out from beneath my pulled up long sleeves. Not to mention the style overhaul, which meant she dressed way differently than her parents were used to.

"I may have grown a bit, but I'll always be daddy's little girl." Sakura whispered, trying not to let her tears devolve into a full on sob.

"Don't cry my little flower, don't cry," her father said as he laboriously reached a hand up to dry her tears.

At this point her mom intervened, "Let's not be sad at a time we should be joyous. We have missed you so much Sakura and we are so happy to have you home. Let's get dad up into his wheelchair and we can all go into the kitchen for tea."

Before they exited the room Sakura mentioned to her mom that Ino and Hinata had brought her from the airport and that they were waiting in the family room. As they got her dad situated they moved into the kitchen which opens directly into the family room, thanks to the open floor plan.

"Hi Mr and Mrs Haruno!" Hinata said with a smile. "Did you guys like the casserole me and my mom made for you last night?"

Sakura thought to herself, how long had Ino and Hinata been picking up her slack at home and helping her family out in their time of need? A feeling of shame washed over her for leaving. For not being there when her family needed her. Sure the financial freedom her career offers her family has been amazing, but nothing can replace a helping hand around the house when her dad is too ill to walk and her mom spends her time caring for him. She promised herself she would be more attentive and a shoulder for her parents to lean on right now. They've given her the best life imaginable and she wanted the same for them.

"We loved the casserole, Hinata," her mom said with a smile. "We are so thankful for all you and your family has done for us in our time of need."

"Oh no worries Mrs Haruno, I know you guys would do the same for us." Hinata said cheerily "I see you two as another set of parents and I am always happy to help."

"What would we do without Hinata, right?" Sakura asked, laughing, trying to lighten her own mood.

They all sat down at the dining table with the fresh pot of tea her mom had brewed during their conversation. They always had cookies to go with, it was tradition. She liked when it was like this. Her parents, her friends, her old happy life, but everytime her eyes meet her dad's she is filled with dread anew at the thoughts of losing him. She can't let that happen. There has to be a way to heal him. Who cares if the best doctors in the world had tried and failed? Sakura wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.

~

That night after Ino and Hinata left she helped her mom clean up and get her dad back into bed. She said her goodnights and went to her old bedroom, left exactly as it had been all those years. Her parents wanted her to always have a place to come home to. She loved them for that. She quickly undressed, found pajamas, did her nightly skin care routine and crawled into bed.

As she lay there staring at the ceiling, mind adrift with a million thoughts, a single tear slipped down her cheek. She had to find a way to heal her father. She couldn't go down without a fight. She had heard from Hinata that very recently a new team of medical scientists had opened a lab in Konoha. They were working on ground breaking medicine according to the articles she had read online, supposedly employing the greatest minds in the world. This got her mind wondering, thinking maybe they hadn't exhausted every last avenue for a treatment or cure. Tomorrow bright and early she was going to wake up and go down to the research lab and present her fathers case. Maybe they will know what is wrong or at least where to start. She could hope, right?