Yin and Yang

Chapter 7

Sakura

Sakura chased her best friend down the hallway outside the office.

"Naruto!" she yelled after him.

He stopped and punched the wall next to him, and it cracked.

(Kakashi sighed in his office, secretly glad that neither of the two had punched the wall hard enough to bring down the whole building.)

"It's okay." she squeezed his shoulder.

"It's not." he said, his voice barely a decibel above a whisper.

Sakura sighed, knowing how it felt. The one person both of them wanted in Konoha, couldn't be there.

"Why does he have to be so difficult?" Naruto gritted his teeth. "One day. It's just a matter of.. One. Fucking. Day."

Sakura sighed, too tired to cry anymore. They were bound to live their lives like this. It was unfair, but inevitable.

"Naruto..." she said, softly. "Your parents gave their lives for this village. Jiraiya sensei gave his life for this village. Neji... he would've been your brother-in-law. He had his whole life ahead of him, but he chose to sacrifice it. For us." she paused. "Sasuke is honoring their sacrifices to make sure that no other brave shinobi like them have to lay their lives down. He's eliminating the threat before it becomes too great to deal with."

She turned him around to look into his eyes. The grief in them broke her heart.

"Of all people, I know how much you want him to be here. But you both have roles to play to protect this world.... And he has understood that."

Naruto was shaking.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." he managed to mumble, before he walked off.

He doesn't deserve this. Not now. She sighed sadly, wondering what else was in store for them in their lives.

Sakura

On the big wedding day, Sakura quickly helped Hinata with her makeup, and then rushed to change into her outfit.

"I am so glad you're marrying him." she'd teared up, looking at Hinata, who had teared up herself.

"Thank you for everything, Sakura." she'd said. "And I'm proud of both of you for holding up this well despite..." Hinata had trailed off.

Sakura smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry about Sasuke. And I'm sure Naruto will be fine. We're... used to it. We know Sasuke cares, and he's out there protecting us. That's all that matters."

She'd rushed and changed into a pretty pink dress, and decided to go with simple makeup and a simple necklace.

When she arrived at the venue, her heart filled with mirth at the beauty and loveliness of it all. It wasn't grand or overwhelming, but it was familiar and welcoming. Homely.

She glanced around at everybody. Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei talking about how old they felt. Lee and Gai-sensei being overenthusiastic. Kurenai sensei lecturing Kiba about gifts. She'd smiled and waved at the Konohamaru squad at the gift counter. She watched Temari and Shikamaru, and Ino and Sai laughing about something together.

"Sakura! Come, let's all click pictures, you pretty thing!" Ino squealed, noticing her.

"Pretty, huh? Are you okay, Ino?" Sakura teased her.

"The makeup and hair makes your forehead look smaller today." she teased.

"And makes you look a little less like a pig!" Sakura grinned and poked her nose.

They clicked pictures and ate to their heart's content. All of them shed tears when the bride and groom walked out.

"We have grown up, haven't we?" Shikamaru sighed, with a nostalgic smile on his face.

She looked at most of them paired off, holding hands, leaning close to each other, and absorbing the magnificence of it all. Together.

It's okay. It's okay.

She tried to soothe the ache that was blooming into her ribcage, slowly pushing the air out of her lungs.

Don't break down, Sakura. Not here.

She watched Sai whisper something into Ino's ear, and they both giggled.

I'll punch myself if I cry.

She finally dared to look at Naruto and Hinata on the stage, as he held her hand and led her into the crowd of guests. Everyone started cheering and clapping.

She hastily brushed away the tears that had finally fallen from her eyes.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled warmly at her as she approached the newlyweds after a few minutes.

"Congratulations, you two." she hugged them both as tightly as she could.

"Why are you crying?" Naruto asked, visibly concerned.

"Silly! These are happy tears." she let out a small, reassuring laugh.

"Are you sure?" he asked, still not convinced.

"Yes! Idiot. I'm extremely glad that two of the most amazing people in my life finally got hitched! Now stop worrying and enjoy your day!" she bumped both of their heads together, biting her lips.

She walked to the edge of the crowd, and sighed peacefully. She was glad that her best friend had found love and belongingness.

She suddenly heard the wings of a hawk fluttering above her. Her heart momentarily stopped.

So he did remember. She smiled, allowing the hawk to perch on her arm.

"Congratulations." the letter said.

She blushed as she touched the dried ink.

Somewhere far away, Sasuke looked back and smiled with content.