The Flowers Cherish You

Chapter 9; The Fire

She's going to work on it.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

She races for her home with little regard to her teammates, their sensei, and Ino. The moment she steps foot out of Training Ground 3, the black smoke is easily seen. It almost looks like a tornado with the way it twists up into the sky. She pumps chakra into her feet and takes to the roofs to get there faster. Sakura barely comprehends the familiar chakras directly on her tail. The cries of "Put the fire out!" grow louder as she draws near. She sees a variety of people. Different clans and civilians. Some using water-based jutsu to try and put the fire out while others run around with buckets of water.

Her is compound is nearly covered in flames. Save for the entrance to her home, Sakura cannot see where the fire begins and where it ends. Her heart pounding against her ribcage, she comes to an abrupt stop. The ground is rippling in agony; as if to cry out in pain. She hears shouting. She sees familiar faces.

The sacred tree! Sakura thinks suddenly, a sick feeling pooling in her stomach. My pictures! She makes a foolish choice then. One that will surely get her into a lot of trouble. She can already picture the sort of face Naruto's dad will make when he learns of this. Without looking around, Sakura darts forward, dodging the hands that reach out to stop her. There are cries for her to stop. Cries that tell there's nothing in her home worth risking her life. Sakura ignores them.

If she loses those pictures, she'll have nothing left.

Black smoke greets her along with extreme heat. Sakura looks around her living room, sees what's not on fire, and leaps over the couch darting for her bedroom. The moment the door is open, Sakura jumps out of the way. Flames lick at her bare knees but she pushes the pain aside. Some burns in exchange for the remaining items of her parents? She'll take it. Sakura can barely make out her bedside table. Using her dresser to avoid the floor, Sakura dives over her bed and grabs the only framed picture on it, holding it close to her chest.

She coughs. The smoke is thick, black, and she feels like an idiot. There's a ripple in the ground followed by the sound of something crumbling. Sakura squints through the smoke and flames and sees a hole in the wall. There's a ridiculously large tree root retreating into the ground. She sends a silent 'thank you' to her sacred tree. Sakura runs through the hole, hissing when fire kisses at her arms. The guest bedroom isn't nearly as bad as her bedroom. Sakura uses the bed to get to the door.

Raising her shirt to cover her mouth and nose, Sakura runs for her parent's room. She prays for a miracle. She prays that the pictures at the bedside table are okay. The moment Sakura opens the door, she slams it shut. The entire room is engulfed in flames. A helpless feeling crawls over her skin. Her coughing grows worse, her eyes stinging. The cover of her shirt doesn't protect her much. Just as she turns to run down the hall for the exit, a sharp crack is heard and the roof is caving in. Large chunks of wood and plaster fall from above. In a split second decision, she throws herself backward.

Sakura can't see five feet in front of her. She starts coughing. It's incredibly violent. Thick smoke fills her lungs; tiny tears trail down her face. How could she have been so stupid running into a burning building as she did?! She starts crawling backward, one hand still clutching her family picture to her chest. Her back meets the wall. Flames lick at her skin. The pain is building. By God, it hurts. She coughs. She can't see anything.

I don't want to die, she thinks desperately. I'm not ready to die.

"Sakura-hime," a voice to her left calls out to her. It's urgent and even sounds frightened. A cool material is wrapped around her. A blanket of some sort. Sakura feels herself being picked up. "You foolish girl. You foolish, foolish girl."