Flower of two worlds

12.- A Camp in Another World

At such a young age, I had the opportunity to explore a good part of the world, at least the world I knew. My previous travels had always been work-related or collaborations. I was excited about the prospect of my first purely fun trip, or so I thought back then. Unfortunately, I completely ignored the danger signs

"Your first semester at the Hero Academy has come to an end, but for those aspiring to be heroes, there's no time to rest" declared Professor Aizawa.

"Finally, some action," Sakura thought happily.

In the early morning, everyone gathered in front of the school facilities, waiting for the bus that would take them to the summer camp. The anticipation of the first summer camp had everyone in high spirits.

"Deku-kun!" Ochaco exclaimed, running towards Deku. Both Todoroki and Sakura observed the interaction between the two.

"It's finally time to train in the forest!" Ochako said excitedly.

"Y-yes, Uraraka-san!" Midoriya stammered, his face completely red. His friend was so close to him that it seemed like he might faint at any moment.

Ochako was briefly puzzled by Midoriya's reaction until she remembered the question Aoyama had asked her in the exam: "Do you like him?" Immediately, Ochako's face turned completely red. She moved a couple of meters away and started talking excitedly about the summer camp. Ashido and Kaminari joined her.

Sakura was the only one who noticed the interaction between the two, observing them with curiosity. Had she correctly interpreted what she read on Aoyama's lips when he asked Ochako if she liked Midoriya? She wasn't sure, but she decided it was best to keep watching.

She had always considered herself a hopeless romantic; she loved romance movies and books. However, real-life romance always surprises her. In her world, displays of affection were typically given in private, especially if you were a ninja, as you never knew when enemies might be watching. A notable example was Asuma and Kurenai's relationship, which was only discovered after Asuma's death. As for her comrades, only "the idiot" Naruto, Ino, Hinata, and she were the ones who showed their affection to varying degrees.

Ino might be the exception. She still remembered the time they shared one night before the ninja war. That night, she told Ino about the day she confessed her love to Naruto despite it being a lie before leaving to try to kill Sasuke, which almost cost her life twice at the hands of Sasuke. Only the intervention of Kakashi and Naruto had prevented her death. After crying bitterly over the loss of the Sasuke they had known, Ino hugged her until she finally calmed down. The atmosphere fell into a bitter silence.

"Sakura, I..." Ino separated from the hug and put her right hand on her left arm. "Like you, I loved Sasuke, I really loved him... Or so I thought. The truth is we never really knew him; we idealized him. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I've finally moved on. I can't love someone who has changed so much. Now that you've told me this, I can only say that I couldn't forgive someone who hurt my best friend. Love comes and goes."

Until now, she couldn't comprehend it. It was about Sasuke-kun, the one everyone talked about. She knew that behind that façade of indifference and coldness, the real Sasuke still existed, the one she had known in the academy and at the beginning of her time in Team 7. Besides, he had been forced to act that way by his brother, Itachi, who had tragically decided to exterminate his own family when he was just a child to save Konoha, even knowing that Danzo's ideals were twisted. It had all been the result of the corruption and hatred that had taken root from the early days of Konoha. She loved him. To love meant to want the other person unconditionally. If it wasn't that way, what was love?