Naruto Fanfic.

Forget Me...
Lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside, but all she could hear was the sound of her own sobbing. Hiccups wedged their way in between tears, making a very comical sound. Though there was thunder and lightning, not a drop of rain fell. It was as if the sky was merely angry, but not grieving. How she wished to just disappear. Her grief washed over her in waves, every wave brought forth pain and heart ache. It was as if she was being broken again and again. Her throat was sore and her eyes were stinging from her tears. But to her, these were just trivial annoyances, compared to the pain in her heart.

His last words. His last request. She did not understand how he could something so terrible to her, to his village. She could not do what he asked of her, but it was his last request after all. Before he left. Before he left her in darkness. Before he disappeared from her life, leaving behind a trail of destruction and pain. She curled herself into the ball, as if trying to hide from the world, from pain. Her whimper was choked by more tears, as new wave of sorrow passed over her mind. The rain finally came, ridding the air of a sticky, humid feeling. Relief. It battered the high window around her, soothing her somewhat. Her tears dried out as the rain started. She gazed at her surroundings with puffy eyes, bloodshot from weeping. She sat leaning against the wall of a house that seemed to have been abandoned many years ago. One wall had collapsed, letting in quite a large amount of rain. Everything was covered in a layer of dust or dirt. The rubble from the ruined wall was scattered everywhere. It felt as if the whole place would crumble at a touch.

She was so immersed in her memories that she saw none of this. To her, the walls were still intact, strong and reliable. Children were running to and fro in the halls. Candles on fancy brackets illuminated everything within the building with a warm light. Plants in splendid ceramics decorated the walkways and rooms. Carpet covered the floors, patterned beautifully in swirls of maroon and gold. Paintings that hung on the walls betrayed important people and previous owners of the mansion, were gold gild and stood gleaming in their polished frames. The place had held an aura of festivity and hospitality. It was hard to imagine that this place was stripped of it glory in mere hours, into this forbidding ruin. In mere hours, he had turned from comrade to foe.

Not a sign of life was seen other than the girl in the mansion for miles around. Buildings were blackened from the flames that had consumed them, others collapsed after the attack. Other places, where buildings had once been, were no ore than a heap of stone and ash. The village was silent. A ruin. Surprisingly, no bodies were found anywhere. One would expect to find the bodies of the deceased after witnessing the result of such a terrible event. Not that she cared. She was so wallowed in self grief that she did not notice the rain stop, that she did not notice another person approach her. Only when he tapped her shoulder did she look up, with hope in her face. When she saw who it was, her expectant expression lowered a fraction, but the boy did not seem to notice. He was smiling, even though the event had just cost him many friends. She was surprised to find the boy tattered and bruised, while she herself was not hurt. She healed him before following him out of the ruin. He stroked her shoulder comfortingly, and was surprised when she did not react.

As the sun crept over the horizon, two figures were seen walking away from the ruined town. A blond boy was followed by a pink haired girl as they exited the gates of Konoha. Seemingly hundred of mounds had been built, outside the gate, where the bodies of the deceased had been buried; well at least all the bodies that could be found within the ruins. Sakura and Naruto both looked back for one last time. Instead of the busy streets and throng of people they were both so used to coming back to every time a mission was completed, deserted streets and destruction met them. Sakura could not help but break into tears again. A small group was already waiting for them outside the city gates, those few who had survived. In the cluster of 20 to 30 people, Sakura and Naruto could only identify four or five of their friends.
“Where will we go and what will we do?”
Naruto answered Sakura with never ending good humor, though inside, he did not know either.
“Why! We will travel and train to become stronger. Then, we will be able to beat Orochimaru and bring Sasuke back! After that, we can rebuild Konoha. You will become a great healer and I will become Hokage!! Believe it!!”
Sakura smiled slightly. There was still hope. Then a darker thought entered her mind.
“If Sasuke still wants to come back”
This time Naruto did not reply. He wasn’t sure he could trust himself.
They walked on towards the rising sun in silence. The group of ninjas walked east, towards a large expanse of desert. Perhaps they could find some refuge within the village of the sands. After a while, Naruto turned around to face Sakura with a quizzical look on his face.
“What did Sasuke say to you back there?”
Sakura answered in a cold voice, stoic of emotion.
“He asked me to forget him”
Naruto looked back again with a smile.
“Then forget him…for now”