Bloom Again

xiii.

—— Bloom Again ——

"We have walked through the darkness of this world, that's why we are able to see even a silver of light."
-Gaara

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The future - Konoha
108 days before Konoha's downfall

"Sakura, please calm down! You'll ruin your stitches."

"How can I calm down? My best friend is missing, Shizune. He's Naruto, how can I not be worry? He was the one who defeated Pein, Madara and Kaguya yet here he is missing. God damn Kakashi and his 'Never leave a man behind morals'! Screw you old man!" Sakura cursed out loud ignoring the pain that shot up through her abdomen.

"Sakura..."Shizune trailed off unsurely, "You know Naruto values friendship among all," Shizune reach for Sakura and Sakura relent to the older woman as she was pulled into a strong embrace.

"You know Naruto would never leave you with that man, Sakura."

"I know and that's why I'm mad. It's all my fault. Shizune, the things he said when I was with him was beyond any other psychopath I've met. I should have stopped him myself, but I didn't; I couldn't. "

"Naruto wouldn't want you to fault yourself. He—"Shizune paused, "That boy loves you, Sakura."

With that, Sakura's heart crumbles even more.

"You think I don't know that?"Sakura chokes out as tears roll down her cheeks

"For years he keeps on doting on me faithfully! Every insult I've ever hurled at him was taken as a motivation for him to get stronger, to improve, to be better for me. He was just a boy wanting to be loved. He was willing to sacrifice his dream of the Hokage seat for me, Shizune. " Sakura throws her hands up in frustration.

"That's what love does to someone."A voice suddenly interrupts as the door to Sakura's room opens and in walk a man. A man who is very familiar and limping oddly as he walks in.

"Sasuke-san! You shouldn't walk with your condition like that!" Shizune internally screams as she watches both admirable shinobi ruin their stitches but she knew the stitches was the last thing they had in their mind. Her loud warning did not deter the man at all.

"Sasuke... He's not dead, is he?" Sakura's soft voice pulled Shizune out of her monologue. Sasuke approached his teammate slowly and his remaining hand laid on Sakura's. His rinnegan onyx eyes gazed into her emerald ones. Over the years, out of everything, Sasuke's eyes had always been her very favourite trait about him. You could see emotions that weren't displayed openly by his face in his eyes. Sasuke is a man of few words. But it doesn't mean he doesn't feel. He doesn't say much about how he feels but Sakura knows it is killing him on the inside to know Naruto is out there suffering under the hands of the psychopath and he could not do much about it.

His big hand squeeze hers. She squeezes back and holds on to it as if it was her lifeline. In a way perhaps it was. In a way maybe to Sakura, he was the only one left.

"We'll find him, Sakura."

Shizune sigh and quietly left the pair by themselves. She felt the scene she just witnessed was intimate and private. Shizune remembers the blonde boy who would have taken no time to cheer both of his best friends.