"Today's her birthday, huh?" Kakashi said as he approached the grave, standing beside her. She nodded as he set down a bundle of green floral bells, right beside her jar of yellow lilies. Nothing pink. Kakashi looked at the yellow flowers--maybe, next time, he should bring some; the grass looked livelier with some color.
"Did you hear about the festival?" She scoffed. "The one the Hokage is throwing in her honor?"
"I guess he's just trying to pay his respects."
"Or he's just trying to lessen his guilt," she scowled.
Kakashi crossed his arms. "He doesn't know about her. Nobody does. This is the least he can do."
Kakashi walked off not too long after. An anbu informed him that the Hokage was in need of his presence, in regards of the Cherry Blossom Festival. He offered a quick goodbye to the bitter Keiko before leaving.
In her thoughts, staring at the damned grave, she thought, maybe Naruto was not to blame. Maybe he was so innocent to Sakura's true life that his doing was not of his own fault. Nobody knew what was going on in Sakura's head, not even her.
Naruto's guilt was only for Sakura's death and not her life. He could only believe she died for his fault; sending her on that mission, days after an argument, days without an apology--and he had not the slightest recollection of what she was before she was laid down into her pink grave.
And then Keiko thought about the letter. Maybe no one was to blame. Everyone was, as Naruto was, clueless. And maybe that was how it was to be; no matter how many times Sakura fell, nobody would notice. And no matter how many times someone decided to care and ask how are you sakura, she would never say a word. Maybe that was how it was meant to be. Sakura would die any other way and over her pink grave everyone could only recall the happy girl she let them remember.
But Keiko couldn't wallow before her grave in bitter thoughts of who to blame and who not to. It was her birthday.
She crouched down and brushed her fingertips, light and daint, against the lilies.
"I'm gonna buy you a strawberry cake when I get home, okay?" She offered a small smile before walking off.
YOU ARE READING
empathy (rewritten 2019)
Fanfictionthe fourth shinobi war is over. konoha, among the other villages, have settled into a peaceful era of recovery and nonviolence. but years after the war and years into their recovery, on a spring march day, sakura haruno decides. and the journey of h...
